High School Meltdown
by writerchic16
Summary: When Troy’s parents get divorced, his father dates Gabriella’s mother. Can recently broken up Troy and Gabriella stand living under one roof? [Troy and Gabriella stepsibling fic][Complete!]
1. Prologue

**High School Meltdown**

Summary: When Troy's parents get divorced, his father dates Gabriella's mother. Can recently broken up Troy and Gabriella stand living under one roof?

A/N: Yes, I'm here again. Thought I just had to get the one out of my system, then I came up with this and couldn't help myself. Stupid inspiration, why must you curse me?

Okay I'm done. Enjoy the story.

* * *

**Prologue**

_Am I sure I want to do this?_

Letting out a deep sigh, Gabriella Montez sat on the front steps to East High School, wrapping a strand of her curly dark hair around her right index finger. The grounds were quiet, as it was close to five in the afternoon on a Saturday. She wanted to talk to Troy about their current romantic relationship, and the only way he would be able to chat for longer than five seconds was if she met him right after practice.

Practice ended several minutes ago, but she honestly didn't mind the extra time to think. Really she was only doing this because it was the best option, what was convenient for both parties at that point in time. At least, that's how Taylor explained it to her, and she agreed. Though this was her original idea, Taylor latched on to it and convinced her.

"This," as much as Gabriella wanted to put it off, was breaking up with Troy.

Never having done anything like this before – after all, Troy was her first serious boyfriend – she wasn't sure yet how to even begin the conversation. How could she do this without breaking his heart?

It wasn't a question of whether his heart would be broken or not. They'd been going out since shortly after trying out for last year's Spring musical, and it was now early November of their Junior year. The phrase "I love you" was even exchanged one magical date night.

But she had to do it. Somehow.

"Hey Gabby! What are you doing here?"

Standing up and turning around, Gabriella gave Troy a weak smile. He showed all the signs of a workout – sweat dampened his hair, he was in a white undershirt and his uniform shorts, and his gym bag was under his arm.

"Oh, hey," she greeted, wincing when he gave her a kiss on her cheek. "My, um, science club meeting got out a while ago and I figured I'd wait around. I've missed you."

Troy grinned, kissing her on her other cheek. "I've missed you too. I'm so sorry I couldn't make dinner this week. Practice ran late, and you know how my dad gets."

"Yeah, I know," Gabriella said, letting out another sigh. _Here we go_, she thought. "He's been making you practice late a lot. We haven't been on a date on a Friday night in forever."

Leaning on the stair banister, Troy frowned. "I'm sorry, babe, but we've gotta get ready for the playoffs. You understand, don't you?"

"I do. And it's not just you. I've been so busy with the science team I've barely had a free moment for anything," Gabriella answered, sitting down next to him.

Seeming to sense the tone of her voice, Troy put a hand on her shoulder. "Gabby, what's wrong?"

"I think we should break up!"

She hadn't meant to blurt it out like that, but she had. And instantly regretted it. The most crestfallen look she'd ever seen on anyone crossed Troy's face for a brief second. Then he gave a vain attempt to put on a macho façade. "W-what?"

"I'm sorry Troy, and if you want to hate me, it's okay," Gabriella went on, tears welling in her eyes. "I love you, I really do. And maybe next Summer, if we're both single and willing, we can get back together. But it's so hard now. We're on completely different schedules, never see each other at all…and the SAT's a lot of other tests are coming up at the end of the year. When you put together our studies, our extracurricular activities, commitments to our families…"

Nodding, Troy managed to make eye contact with her. "I know. We have to break up. Honestly, I wanted to talk about our situation and figure out what to do, but…you're right. This isn't working. It's better it ends now than six months down the line, when we're both frustrated and angry with each other."

"Oh, you do understand!" Gabriella cried as she him around his neck.

Troy returned the hug, then said with a resigned note to his voice, "I guess. I still love you, Gabby. I'll miss you."

"I'll love you and miss you too," Gabriella assured him. "But we can still be friends, right? We'll just hang out with Chad, Taylor, and everyone as a group."

Giving her a halfhearted grin, Troy replied, "Of course. And you'll still come to my games? With everyone, I mean."

"Right. It'll be like nothing changed," Gabriella said, not believing the lie herself the minute it came out of her mouth.

Then he leaned in and kissed her on the lips. When they broke apart, Troy joked, "Are you sure you don't want to change your mind?"

"I'm sure," Gabriella breathed.

"If you say so," Troy sighed, getting up from the banister and slinging his bag over his shoulder. "Um, look, I reek. I'm gonna…I'm gonna go home and take a good shower. See you around."

Wiping tears from her eyes, Gabriella stood and watched as Troy walked towards the parking lot, where his father's car was waiting. Though she knew he couldn't hear him, she whispered, "See you."


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: For those wondering, I just want to explain that this will be Troyella, but not in the way you're probably thinking. I want this to be somewhat different from all the other Troyella fics out there.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

"I did it."

Sharpay turned to glare at Gabriella, then went back to her makeup. "Yes, we know. Do you have to rub it in?"

"B-but…" Gabriella trailed off, a confused expression on her face. She, Sharpay, Kelsi, and Taylor were sitting in the auditorium. Rehearsal for the fall musical was in full swing, and Gabriella had once again snagged the lead. Troy, however, chose in the beginning of the year to focus more on basketball and his studies, so her co-star was Ryan instead. Sharpay, rather than being stuck with the understudy role again, tried out for the major supporting role just in case, so she was now the Rizzo to Gabriella's Sandy.

Literally. The play this semester was "Grease."

They'd just finished rehearsal for the day. Taylor was there to go with Gabriella to the meeting of the science club, and Kelsi had decided to try being on stage this year. She was only one of the minor Pink Ladies, but it was a start.

Gabriella snapped out of her reverie when Taylor snapped, "Do you even know what Gabby's talking about, Sharpay?"

"Of course I do," Sharpay huffed. "She's bragging about that high note she hit at the end of 'Summer Nights.' Which in my opinion was a little…_shrill_. I think the kids upstairs in detention could hear…I'd watch my back if I were you."

Rolling her eyes, Kelsi remarked, "I don't think that's what she was talking about. Let the girl finish, will you?"

"Thanks, Kels," Gabriella replied. "Like I said, I did it. I…I broke up with Troy. On Saturday, after his practice. I just wanted to let you know before it got around school. Well…see you."

Before she could take another step, Kelsi put a hand on her shoulder. "Wait…_what_? But you and Troy were so cute together!"

"Not as cute as me and Michael," Sharpay sniffed, referring to her current boyfriend, "But very cute. It is a shame. I didn't even know you two were having problems."

Glancing at Taylor, who was avoiding eye contact, Gabriella explained, "Well, we weren't really. We love each other and everything, but our schedules were just too hectic to have a relationship right now. I told him it wasn't working and…he agreed."

"You _dumped_ him?" Sharpay shrieked, seemingly taking no heed that everyone else in the auditorium turned to stare at her.

Taylor groaned, then jumped in for her speechless friend. "Girl, are you deaf? They were too busy to have a relationship. The fact that she just happened to say 'it's over' first makes no difference."

"_Hello_? What teen magazines have you been reading?" Sharpay snapped. "You don't dump a great guy just because you're 'busy.'"

Crossing her arms in anger, Kelsi retorted, "What should have Gabby done, if you're such an expert?"

Sharpay was quiet for a second, then answered, "Make time for him, duh! Push around your schedule, maybe quit an activity…"

"Like the play? So you can swoop in and take the lead?" Taylor smirked. When Sharpay feigned surprise, she said, "Oh, please, you're so obvious. I heard you swindling Darbus in homeroom the other day, letting you reserve the Sandy understudy spot."

Gaping at Taylor, Sharpay exclaimed, "How could I do that? I'm playing Rizzo…"

"You'd let your understudy take that part in a heartbeat," Taylor interrupted.

Sharpay opened her mouth to protest, then noticed Gabriella trying to sneak out the door. "Hey, get back here, I'm not done with you yet!"

"Leave her alone," Kelsi pleaded when Gabriella stopped and turned around. "Her relationship _did_ end, and it doesn't matter whether she was the one to end it or not, it still hurts."

Sighing, Gabriella said with sarcasm in her tone, "Gee, thanks for making a big deal out of this, guys. It's not like I feel extremely guilty about it already."

"Well you should! I still think you were too quick to dump someone who's been so good to you," Sharpay seethed.

Taylor narrowed her eyes in annoyance. "Give it a rest. A couple can't survive on one measly date a week."

"She could've made it work…"

"She, she, she! It doesn't sound like Troy put up too much of a fight!"

"That's 'cause he's too much of a gentleman!"

"You're just taking his side because you used to like him! I bet the second he wants to date again you'll be leaving notes in his locker!"

"You know what, maybe I will!"

"I wouldn't be surprised!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I think you know!"

"No, I don't!"

_I have to get out of here,_ Gabriella thought as she watched Taylor and Sharpay argue back and forth. She made eye contact with Kelsi, who gave a helpless shrug. The two escaped through the auditorium doors, leaving their friends arguing.

"I'm so sorry about them, Gabby," Kelsi apologized, putting an arm around a shaking Gabriella. "They mean well, at least Taylor does. They just got a little carried away."

"I know, thanks. I've got to get to science club. See you tomorrow, Kelsi," Gabriella called as she hurried down the hallway.

* * *

Retying his sneakers, Troy tried to prepare himself for the last half-hour of practice. The last place he wanted to be was in the gym, listening to Chad ramble on about plays, but that was where he found himself that Monday afternoon. He didn't want to be there. He'd wanted to run right home, sulk, brood, and hurl a basketball at the backboard of the hoop in his yard until it fell clear off.

Instead he was chugging down a bottle of water and dreading when his dad, well, "coach" would yell at him next to focus on the game. Troy hadn't even bothered to tell his father that he'd just broken up with Gabriella. He wouldn't care, and besides, Troy really didn't want to let down the team.

"…so, what do you think? Troy? Troy? Troy?"

When Chad snapped his fingers in front of his face, Troy blinked several times. "W-hat?"

"Did you just hear a word I said?" Chad asked with an aggravated shake of his head. "I swear, you pay more attention to Gabriella when she's talking about…_science_."

Troy didn't attempt to conceal his frustration. "I'm sorry. I'll pay attention to your next rant."

"Dude, what's with you? You've been spacing out all day," Chad demanded, blocking Troy, who was making a beeline for the court.

Struggling to get around him, Troy snapped, "I don't feel like talking about it, okay? Let it go."

"Hey, _I_ don't care. Every guy's got a rite not to tell stuff," Chad retorted. When Troy was about to sidestep him, he doubled his blocking efforts. "But if you're like this at the next game, we're gonna lose."

Troy glared at him. "Whatever, move out…" He paused when something he saw out of the corner of his eyes caught his attention. Ryan was running towards them.

_What the…_ Troy thought in confusion. Even after the whole musical incident last year, he and Chad weren't really friends with this particular Evans twin. Come to think of it, they haven't been talking to Sharpay that much either.

So there was no reason Troy could think of that would explain why Ryan was in such a hurry that he nearly crashed into Chad when he skidded to a halt.

"What's up, drama dork?" Chad greeted, clearly annoyed at almost being knocked over.

Handing Ryan his hat that had fallen off, Troy added, "Yeah, what's going on?"

"Sharpay and Taylor are having a _huge_ fight!" Ryan exclaimed. "Rehearsal was over a few minutes ago, and they just started hurling insults at each other!"

Troy raised an eyebrow. "And we care about this…why?"

"Because the fight was about you! And how Gabriella broke up with you. Which I'm really sorry to hear about, man," Ryan added quickly, softening his excited tone.

Narrowing his eyes at Troy, Chad said, "Gabby broke up with you? Dude, why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I didn't _want_ to," Troy retorted. "It's none of anybody's business. And she didn't 'break up with me.' It was a mutual thing."

"That's not what I heard," Ryan huffed.

Glaring at the two of them, Troy replied, "Well, she might've said 'I think we should break up' first, but to tell the truth I was going to do it eventually. She just beat me to the punch. Now if you'll excuse me…"

Chad grabbed his arm and dragged him back into the group. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Not so fast. Where is this coming from? You and Gabby were fine. What happened? Did she…did she not wanna put out?"

"_No_! I didn't even ask her!" Troy defended.

Smirking, Ryan pressed, "Then what happened?"

"It…we…" Troy paused. Saying 'we were too busy to have a relationship' sounded a little blunt and made them both look like jerks, but…it was the truth. "We didn't have time for each other anymore. And with exams at the end of the year, we knew it would only get worse. There, satisfied?"

Ryan let out a deep breath, trading worried looks with Chad. "Sorry, Troy. I'm sure you and Gabriella will get past this. Though it's gonna be weird not seeing you together. You two were tight."

"Thanks for reminding me," Troy snapped.

His face reddening, Ryan blurted, "Oh, no, I didn't mean…"

"Evans! What the heck are you doing here? Get off the court and stop talking to my players!" Jack Bolton shouted, blowing his whistle and signaling everyone to resume practice.

Once Ryan had run off, Chad looked at Troy with a concerned expression. "That's rough, man. But don't worry. You'll be over Gabby soon. Just say the word and I'll hook you up with a date."

Not responding, Troy pushed passed Troy, grabbed a nearby basketball and hurled it at the hoop's backboard.


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews!

Two quick notes. One, I made up Mrs. Montez's first name, so forgive me if it's been mentioned before and I got it wrong. Two, does anyone know if it's spelled Gabby or Gabi?

Last note, I promise. I realize that since they're Spanish or Mexican or of some related descent, Gabriella and her mother would probably speak some Spanish at home, if not whole conversations then certain phrases. However, since I don't trust my language skills and don't want to offend every Spanish person who reads this story, I'll pretend that the Montez's have been fully Americanized.

* * *

**Chapter 2**

"Creating space between us, 'til we're separate hearts…"

_That's it!_ Gabriella thought, throwing away any sense of will power and grabbing the box of tissues on the bedside table. Then she jammed her finger on the remote's pause button, glaring at the image of her and Troy dancing on the stage.

When she got home from school that Friday afternoon, she had been feeling almost okay. Though heartbroken in the beginning of the week, she managed to get herself together enough to brave the hateful stares of every girl in her class.

_"Can you believe she dumped Troy Bolton?" _

_"I know! She probably already has her eyes on someone else." _

_"That slut!" _

_"Yeah, she didn't deserve Troy." _

_"It's too bad they broke up…how long do you think it'll be before he's ready to date again?" _

_"Soon, hopefully." _

Wiping tears from her eyes, Gabriella tried not to think about the verbal abuse she'd endured. Or the fact that Sharpay was without a doubt feeding the fire.

She shook her head, as if flinging the comments from her mind. She had been determined not to let this break up or the remarks bother her mere hours ago, with her eyes were dry and her head held high. But then…she'd seen him.

All week long, she turned avoiding him into a skill. One wouldn't think it was hard, but not running into Troy Bolton at East High was like staying awake throughout an entire stint of detention with Ms. Darbus (true, she loved the theater, but the drama teacher often had "juvenile delinquents" do the most menial tasks).

So, needless to say she'd bumped into him on her way out of the building after last period. Thankfully it was crowded, with students shoving their way past each other in a mad dash to the door. Gabriella had tried to maintain her balance, but another student's backpack swung around, hit her in the stomach…and sent her flying into Troy.

Like the gentleman he was, he caught her and didn't let her go until she was steady on her feet. The awkward "thanks" sputtered out of here mouth, and she didn't dare give him another look before pushing and shoving her way through the crowd.

The brief contact with him got her doing something she'd been pushing off…admitting that she missed him like crazy. She missed walking with him to their next class, stealing a kiss before the first bell, watching him practice after she got out of drama rehearsal…

That's when she popped in the tape of the musical that Spring. And it had been a short, slippery downward spiral from there.

_Why did I do it?_ She asked herself for the millionth time. _Why did I break up with him? Look at us…we're so perfect together. I should just call him. We can work it out. Maybe…maybe…I can take a smaller role in the play this year…oh, we've already had so many rehearsals…the science club? No, they really need me for the Scholastic Decathlon this year… _

"Gabi?"

The brunette almost jumped out of her skin, so lost in thought she hadn't noticed her mother standing in the door way. "Hi Mom. When did you get home from work?"

"A few minutes ago. Sweetie, why are you crying…oh," Theresa Montez hesitated, her eyes resting on the paused television screen. Sitting next to her daughter and putting an arm around her, Theresa asked, "Why are you watching this instead of going out with your friends? It's Friday afternoon!"

"They're at the basketball game," Gabriella sniffed, leaning into her mother's shoulder. She'd told her mother about the break up only out of necessity, in response to the elder Montez's innocent question of how come Troy hadn't called in the past few days.

Hugging her daughter tighter, Theresa sighed, "Sweetie, I know this is hard. But you will get over him."

"What if I made a mistake?" Gabriella cried. "We only broke up because we were so busy. What if there was some other way we could still be together?"

Theresa narrowed her eyes, forming a look that was sure to make her daughter tell the truth, whether she wanted to or not. "Do you love him enough to quit one of your after school activities?"

"Yes…I think so…no," Gabriella finally admitted, lowering her head.

"Gabi, look at me." When the teenager obeyed, Theresa said, "Then you don't love him as much as you thought you did. If you really did want to stay with Troy, you wouldn't have broken up with him in the first place."

Staring at her mother, then the frozen television screen, Gabriella slowly nodded. "You're right. Thanks Mom. I think I needed to hear that."

Picking up the remote and turning off the tape, Theresa replied, "You know, Jack called and cancelled our date tonight. We could have a girls' night in."

"That sounds like fun," Gabriella responded with complete sincerity. Then she stopped, realizing that she had no idea who Jack was, and her mother had been dating him for at least a few months. "Mom…when am I going to meet this Jack guy? You've been dating him for like three months, and you've always met him somewhere rather than have him pick you up at the house. What's going on?"

There was quiet, then Theresa explained, "Gabi, Jack is…going through a divorce. There's so much complication. I don't want you getting too close to him if things don't work out."

"But…alright," Gabriella sighed, her protest dying on her lips. Ever since her father's death when Gabriella was little, her mother had always been careful about who she brought home. The elder Montez hadn't even been engaged once, for fear that her latest boyfriend would break hers or her daughter's heart.

However, in Gabriella's mind, three months without knowing her mother's boyfriend was a little ridiculous. But she'd wait.

"Thanks, sweetie. You'll meet him soon though," Theresa promised, kissing the top of her daughter's head. "Now let's go rent some bad chic flicks and gorge ourselves on chocolate bars."

Chuckling, Gabriella nodded. "Sounds good to me."

"May I help you?" Sharpay asked, finding herself confronted by Gabriella, Taylor, and Kelsi when she'd shut her locker door. It was Monday afternoon, in between lunch and fifth period. Rather than take her time eating her lunch, she'd opted to spend the free time reorganizing the extra makeup she kept in her locker.

She wasn't at all surprised to see that each of the trio was glaring at her. Hot anger in her voice, Taylor demanded, "Why have you been spreading rumors about Gabi and Troy?"

"Rumors? _Moi_?" Sharpay replied, managing a shocked gasp. "Whatever do you mean?"

"Cut the crap, Sharpay…" Taylor warned.

Sharpay clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "Such language! You don't kiss Chad with that filthy mouth, do you Taylor?"

"Can we not have another fight, please?" Kelsi begged, sending a worried glance in Gabriella's direction. It was obvious that the girl hadn't thought the confrontation was a good idea, and only went along to placate Taylor.

It was also clear that Kelsi hadn't thought that it was a good idea either, but was making sure Sharpay and Taylor didn't come to blows.

Right then, Sharpay would've decked her opponent if not for the fact that she'd just gotten a manicure that weekend. "Listen, Mckessie, I'm not admitting to anything."

"Aha! Then you admit there's something not to admit to!" Taylor exclaimed, clenching her fists.

Tugging at the African American's shirt sleeve, Gabriella pleaded, " Taylor, people are staring. Let's just go to class, okay?"

"No, not okay!" Taylor shouted. "When an egomaniac of a blonde spreads lies that make my best friend look like a slut, it's not okay!"

Stomping her foot, Sharpay yelled, "I am _not_! You take that back!"

"In your dreams, Barbie wannabe!" Taylor retorted.

"'Barbie wannabe'? Okay, science dork, you want to go, let's go!" Sharpay screeched, raising her fist.

Taylor smirked, also preparing to strike. "'Science dork'? Such an original comeback!"

"Stop it!" Kelsi shouted, positioning herself between the two and holding out her hands. "You want to fight in the middle of the hallway? Are you nuts?"

Slowly lowering her arm, Taylor nodded. "You know, she's right."

"Yeah," Sharpay breathed, then shared a knowing look with her opponent. "Let's take it outside!"

"That's not what she meant! Both of you, calm down!" Gabriella shouted, distress on her face.

Out of loyalty to her friend, Taylor obeyed. "Alright, but this isn't over, Ice Princess."

"'Ice Princess' is the name of a Disney movie," Sharpay shot back. "It's Ice _Queen_ to you, missy!"

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Look, Sharpay, we didn't mean to cause trouble. We just wanted to know if you've been spreading rumors about me."

Hesitating, Sharpay tried to think as her heart rate slowed down. She knew she had, in fact, been telling _some_ rumors, but she couldn't help herself. When someone asked her for a juicy piece of news, she had to give the student something or they would go elsewhere for information. "I…may have _embellished_ a little. But I never meant to tell a bold-faced lie." _Except now._

"I _knew_ it!" Taylor huffed, throwing up her hands.

Gabriella shook her head. "So the rumors that I had a screaming match with Troy when we broke up…or that I was cheating on him…Sharpay, how could you?"

She then stormed off, her two friends trailing behind her.

Rather than stand there and pay attention to the usual pangs of guilt whenever she spread a rumor, Sharpay followed them. In all honesty, Gabriella really was a sweet person, and even someone as hardened as she was couldn't help but feel remorse.

It had taken her a few moments to decide to apologize, so she had to weave her way through the crowd. She found them sitting on a bench in a nearby hallway.

About to step forward, she paused when she heard snippets of the conversation they were having. Apparently, Gabriella had shifted from being angry at her to missing Troy. Trying to make the girl feel better, Taylor and Kelsi were getting her to point out all the cons of being Troy Bolton's girlfriend. The list soon flowed, with Gabriella getting plenty of help from her friends.

All urges to apologize vanished the minute Gabriella mentioned that Troy spent way too much time on his hair.

"Sharpay? What are you doing?"

Startled, she whirled around to find none other than Troy standing in front of her, a curious look on his face.

Sharpay smiled. _Fabulous.

* * *

_

Sometime later that day, after Troy had finished eating dinner with his parents, he stomped into the kitchen and yanked open the fridge door. He was still in a foul mood after hearing everything Gabriella and her cronies said about him, though if anyone had asked him he wouldn't have admitted it.

He stood there in front of the bright light for a second, allowing the cool air to counteract the heat his anger was generating. _How could she?_ Troy thought. _How could she say all that stuff? After the way she was all "let's still be friends" when she dumped…when we broke up?_

Mere minutes before he overheard, he was actually on his way to check on his now ex-girlfriend. He'd heard the rumors, and he wanted to see how she was holding up out of genuine concern. While he was angry at famed fire spreading Sharpay, he wasn't going to confront her. No, that was girl stuff, and he was stupid to even try to make sense of it.

But his feelings had instantly reversed when Sharpay showed him the three girls, hurling insults at him when he wasn't even there (as far as they knew) to defend himself. Not in the mood to explain why he didn't take showers in the school shower room after practice (hey, they'd wait until they got home too if they saw the condition of East High showers), he'd quietly stalked off in the opposite direction.

However, after a few hours of sulking he realized that it wasn't the petty little annoyances Gabriella spoke of that got under his skin. It was one comment she'd made just as he was about to leave.

She made the argument that he was a basketball star, she was a science nerd, who was she kidding? He would have dumped her for someone better or prettier anyway.

He didn't know what infuriated him more, that she perceived him to be that shallow, or that she had so little self-esteem when she was so beautiful and talented.

Shaking his head, he refocused on the contents of the fridge. Then his ears picked up whispers from the living room. His parents were having a hushed discussion about something.

_Probably why we had dinner as a family tonight_, Troy thought with a smirk. Most nights, he and his father ate whatever his mother left for them. His mother was a nurse, she often worked irregular shifts. Between her schedule and ever-changing practice times, it was a wonder he got to see her as much as he did.

" Troy? Can you come in here?" His father called.

"Sure," Troy shouted back. He grabbed a soda can out of the fridge, gave its door a good shove without checking to see if it closed or not, and popped the can open while he walked into the living room.

He paused, noting the serious expressions on his parents' faces and the feeling in the air. Though it never made sense to him before, he now appreciated the phrase "tension so thick one could cut it with a knife."

Uneasily sitting down on an easy chair across from his parents, who were sitting next to each other on the couch, he asked, "What's up?"

"Troy…we have something to tell you…" his mother began. "We're hoping it won't be too much of a shock."

Troy's face whitened. "You're having a baby?"

"No, no, not that," Jack assured him. "Son, have you noticed anything different in the relationship between your mother and I in the past few months?"

Hesitating, Troy tried to make sense of the question he was just asked. _Different how?_ he thought. Then realization dawned on him. His parents had been fighting often, and many times he heard his father pulling out of the driveway soon after his mother left for work. "You're…you're…separating?"

"Not exactly, honey," his mother answered, an apologetic frown on her face.

Troy cast worried expressions to each of them. "Then what?"

Anxiety in his voice, Jack answered, "Son, we've passed separation. We're getting a divorce."

"W-what? How?" Troy sputtered. Then it clicked. "Alright, who cheated on who?"

Jack sent him an annoyed glare. "No one cheated on anybody. Your mother and I had already been separated when…when I started dating my girlfriend."

"Why didn't you tell me any of this?" Troy yelled, jumping to his feet.

Reaching for her son's hand, his mother answered, "We didn't want to worry you. With school and basketball and your girlfriend…"

"She's not my girlfriend anymore. We broke up. A week ago," Troy snapped, taking his hand out of his mother's reach. He wasn't sure, but he thought he saw his father's face pale for a brief second.

"W-what? How come you didn't say anything?" Jack demanded.

Troy glowered at him. "You didn't ask. You never ask." Making a valiant attempt to calm himself down, he turned to his mother. "What happens now?"

"Well, I'm…I'm moving to New York to be with my family," his mother admitted. "I would stay close, but since Marie just had the baby I want to be there to help her," she explained, referring to her sister.

Not believing what he was hearing, Troy stated, "I'm not moving to New York."

"We don't expect you to. Of course you'll stay here with me," Jack replied. "But son…my girlfriend, and her daughter…are moving in here when your mother leaves."

"What? Why? They can't!" Troy exclaimed.

Taking a few deep breaths, Jack answered, "They can, and they are. She moves around a lot for a job, so they only rented their house for a year…"

"So you're inviting them to stay here. Without asking me first. That's great, Dad, just great," Troy sneered, punching the easy chair's arm before storming out the front door.


	4. Chapter 3

A/N: Wow, you guys are awesome! Thanks for all the reviews!

* * *

**Chapter 3 **

Tapping her fork on her full lunch tray, Gabriella didn't even try to listen to Taylor's ramblings about the Scholastic Decathlon team that year. She had given a valiant attempt at the beginning of the lunch hour, but her thoughts were too wrapped around a discussion she'd had with her mother that morning.

_They'd both been up early. Gabriella woke up an hour before she had to and couldn't go back to sleep. Showered and dressed, she took the time to actually have breakfast rather than just grab a toaster pastry and run out the door. _

_Though surprised to hear her mother in the bathroom, Gabriella didn't think about it until she saw the elder Montez standing in the doorway with a frazzled look on her face, clearly the result of a sleepless night. "Mom, what's wrong?" _

_"Gabi, I have to tell you something," Theresa answered, taking a seat at the kitchen table across from her daughter. _

_Gabriella felt her panic rising. "What is it? Is something wrong? Did…did someone in our family…" _

_"No, no, everyone's fine," Theresa was quick to assure her. "But there's something I've been needing to tell you for a while…I just can't put it off anymore." _

_Giving her mother a comforting smile, Gabriella pressed, "What's going on, Mom?" _

_"Sweetie, you know how I only leased this house for a year, right? Well…I'm not renewing it," Theresa blurted. _

_Gabriella felt her eyes widen, then a rush of emotions – anger, sadness, relief. "What? No, Mom! I'm not moving again! I like New Mexico, and I like East High!" _

_"You won't have to leave either of them," Theresa informed her. _

_Hesitating, Gabriela asked in a confused tone. "What do you mean?" _

_"Jack…Jack is finally getting divorced. His ex-wife is moving to New York," Theresa explained. "We're going to move in with him and his teenage son." _

_Gabriella stared at her. "But I don't even know them! This isn't fair!" _

_"Trust me Gabi, we'll all manage to get along. I think with some time you and the son will get along," Theresa replied in a calm voice. _

I can't believe this. She always springs these surprises on me and thinks it's okay,_ Gabriella thought. With somewhat of an edge in her words, she snapped, "Well, am I going to get to meet them, or will my first glance of Jack be when I'm the bridesmaid at your wedding?" _

_"Of course not," Theresa huffed. "You'll be meeting them tonight. They're coming over for dinner." _

Gabriella sighed, stabbing at the cafeteria's mystery meat with her fork. It wasn't fair. And what made it even more unfair was that tonight was Friday night. She'd had plans with Taylor and Kelsi to catch a movie. Well, maybe she could rush through dinner and still meet her friends.

Speaking of which, Taylor finally snapped her fingers in front of Gabriella's eyes. "Girl, what planet is your brain on?"

"W-what…oh, sorry Taylor," Gabriella apologized, looking up at her friend. "I guess I have a lot of stuff on my mind."

Taylor's annoyance vanished and was replaced with concern. "Gabi, what's wrong? You've been out of it all day."

"I…I…" Gabriella paused. Normally she didn't like to unload her problems on those around her. But in this case, Taylor was her best friend, and what else were best friends there for? "Okay, here's what happened."

Her explanation took not only a few minutes. "…and now I have to meet him _and_ his son tonight!"

"What? She can't do that!" Taylor exclaimed.

Chuckling softly, Gabriella replied, "Technically she can. She's my mom."

"Well, never mind how outraged I am," Taylor retorted, then calmed herself down. "How do you feel about all this?"

Gabriella sighed. "I don't know. My mom kind of sprung this on me. I haven't really had time to process it."

Giving her a sympathetic smile, Taylor replied, "Well, good luck with tonight. Do you want me to come with you for support?"

Gabriella shook her head. "I think my mom wants to keep it a family thing, but thanks anyway. I have to go – my English teacher said she'd give me extra credit if I helped her grade some multiple-choice tests."

"Like you need extra credit," Taylor remarked, but waved in good-bye. "See you later."

"Yeah, bye," Gabriella called, dumping her lunch in the trash on her way out the door.

* * *

_Man, that's rough,_ Taylor thought, watching her best friend throw out almost all of her lunch. All she knew is that if she was stuck in that situation, she'd run away to stay with one of her relatives who lived nearby. _Well, I'll just have to be there for her. That's all anyone can do._

"Hey, Mckessie!"

Taylor looked up to find Chad pointing to the seat next to him. _What does he want?_ She thought, frowning. True, she wasn't as utterly repulsed by him as she once had been…but that didn't say much. When they all used to hang out, Troy and Gabriella were the couple, and she and Chad were the third wheels trailing behind their best friends.

Not to say they didn't have some common ground. It was unavoidable that they wouldn't have _some_ sort of friendship when they used to spend so much time together.

Sighing, Taylor swung her bag over her shoulder, threw out the remnants of her sandwich and sat down at the jocks and cheerleaders' table. Something that was undoubtedly uncomfortable for all parties involved. "What do you want, Danforth?"

"Well, _we_ all want you to tell Gabriella to stop trash talking our man Troy here," Chad answered, with the others nodding in agreement.

Taylor gaped at him, her short temper rising. "How _dare_ –"

" Chad!" Troy interrupted, jumping out of his seat with an angry look on his face. "I told you that Gabriella said all that stuff in private! I didn't want you to do anything about it!"

"How do you even _know_ about it? You weren't there! No one was!" Taylor replied, also standing.

As the table became quiet, Troy answered. "I…was there. I was looking for Gabi and, well…"

"Sharpay told my man what was going down. She's decent," Chad interrupted.

Resisting the urge to smack his face, Taylor gritted her teeth. "Danforth, shut up, will you? Not that I should have to explain myself or my friend to a bunch of…_cheerleaders and jocks_, but FYI Gabi was feeling a little down about the break up…"

"_She_ dumped _him_. What does she have to feel down about?" a random cheerleader spat, standing next to Chad.

Instead of replying, Taylor rounded on Troy. "Is that what you've been telling these people, Bolton? Because if you have, I hope you mentioned that you were in full agreement with Gabi when she said you…"

"Look Taylor, tell Gabi I'm sorry about this," Troy said, then explained, "I've just had a lot on my mind lately. My parents are getting divorced, my dad has a new girlfriend, and I'm meeting her and her teenage daughter tonight…well, I've just been upset, okay?"

A hush seemed to fall over the surrounding students. Finally Chad spoke. "Dude, why didn't you tell us? We would've left you alone."

"I didn't feel like it. I just found out myself," Troy retorted.

After a second, another cheerleader asked, "Are you okay, Troy? We're here for you."

"I know, and thanks but…" Troy let out a deep breath. "I'm just upset now, okay? Give me some time to get over this and I'll be fine."

Taylor felt herself almost feeling sorry for the guy. Though it was almost ironic that Gabriella was going through some changes too. Quietly slipping away, Taylor froze when she reached the hallway outside the cafeteria. "Wait…new girlfriend…teenage kids…guy's name is Jack…dinner _tonight_? Oh my gosh!"

Taylor ran down the hallway, screaming Gabriella's name at the top of her lungs.

* * *

"This is Gabi's street," Troy noted. He and his father were still sitting in the car, though his father had turned off the ignition. It was Friday night, and they were supposed to be on Jack's girlfriend's house in about ten minutes. 

The drive over had been awkward. It's never pleasant when one puts an angry teenager alone in a car with the parent who was the cause of that anger.

_Why did he have to date someone who had a daughter _my_ age?_ Troy thought. Being an only child all his life, it would take him a long time to warm up to a possible future stepsister. _It could be worse,_ he admitted to himself,_ it could've been a guy, and you might've had to share your room. _

Nevertheless, he was still not happy about this situation. He was a creature of habit, and the idea of sharing his house with two people he barely knew did not appeal to him.

"Funny you should mention Gabriella."

His father's words snapped him out of his thoughts. Seated in the back, Troy leaned forward. "Did you bring me here to see her or something? Why? I don't want to talk to her."

"You're going to have to," Jack replied, dread in his voice. "Son…my girlfriend's name is Theresa. Theresa _Montez_."

Troy shook his head. "What does that have to do with Gabi…"

Then he got it. He was going to have dinner with Gabriella. He was going to live with Gabriella.

Dear God, he'd have to start cleaning his room. No way he'd let her see all his dirty underwear.

Closing his eyes and letting out a deep breath, Troy asked, "Out of all the women in the world…"

"I know this won't be easy for you. But you'll have to get over your break up quickly. I won't have World War III in our house when she moves in, understood?" Jack warned.

Troy was quiet for a moment. He supposed his house was big enough that if he timed it right, he wouldn't have to see her much. "Understood. But seriously Dad, _Mrs. Montez_?"

"We have a lot more in common than you would think," Jack explained. "She likes sports, believe it or not. We have some of the same tastes in music and movies. Sometimes we would be dropping off or picking up you two and…well, do I have to spell it out for you?"

_It makes sense, I guess,_ Troy thought. Though just because he understood didn't mean he had to be happy about it. "Dad, just be honest. You didn't…mess around with Mrs. Montez before you and mom officially separated, did you?"

"No, we didn't. And she wasn't the reason we broke up either. I only started to…have feelings for Theresa after we separated," Jack answered, his tone firm.

_So he's on the rebound,_ Troy thought, hope rising in his chest. _Maybe they'll break up before it gets too serious._ "Well, that's good, I guess."

"Yes it is," Jack agreed. Then he opened the car door. "Come on, let's go. Don't want to keep them waiting. Grab the cake in the back, will you?"

"Sure, Dad," Troy replied, picking up the bakery box and stepping out of the car. Crossing the street and walking towards the house, he asked, "Hey…Gabi knows I'm coming, right?"

After a second's hesitation, Jack replied, "I'm not sure. Theresa said she was telling Gabi today, but maybe she never got around to it. I guess we'll see."

"I guess we will. You know, maybe you should knock," Troy responded, sure that if he did have a nervous twitch he'd be experiencing it right then. Though he didn't think Gabriella would be mad at him – she had no reason to be – one could never tell when it came to teenage girls.

The door was opened to reveal Theresa, with Gabriella standing further into the foyer with her arms crossed across her chest. "Jack, Troy! So good to see you. Come on in."

"Good to see you too, Theresa," Jack replied.

Troy tried not to show his disgust as his dad kissed Mrs. Montez on the cheek. A quick glance at Gabriella proved that she was attempting the same feat with little success.

Once the jackets were put in the closet, the adults moved into the leaving room, unintentionally leaving the teenagers in the foyer alone.

She offered him a weak smile. "Hi Troy."

"Hi," Troy said, then went to go into the living room. He paused when he heard her soft plea.

"Troy, please," Gabriella nearly whispered. "Can we just talk?"

He paused in the living room doorway. Letting out an exasperated groan, he relented, "Later."


	5. Chapter 4

Once again, thanks for all the reviews!

* * *

**Chapter 4**

Pushing the door further open with her hip, Gabriella carried a large box into her room and dropped it onto her bed. Well, it wasn't so much her bed as a mattress on a metal frame. She and her mother just moved into the Bolton house that morning.

It'd been a week since she and Troy found out about their parents' relationship. Since it turned out that their house contract would be up by the end of December, the parents had decided adjusting would be easier for all if they made the move sooner. Troy's mom was already in New York, so it was just Mr. Bolton, Mrs. Montez, Troy, and Gabriella.

_One big happy family,_ Gabriella thought sarcastically.

"Girl, how much stuff do you have?" Taylor whined, pushing another box along the floor with her foot. Out of curiosity, she snapped open the tape and looked inside. It was filled with books. "Typical," she muttered.

"You're the one who offered to help move in," Gabriella laughed. "Where's Kelsi?"

They looked up as the mentioned composer lugged another box into the room and leaned it against the bed frame. "Right here. Gabi, have I ever told you that you have way too many clothes?"

"No. But that should be the last box," Gabriella informed them, pointing to the one Kelsi had brought in.

Sighing with relief, Taylor flopped back on the mattress. "Thank goodness. Tell me, why aren't the guys helping?"

"Taylor! I can't ask my ex-boyfriend to carry boxes to my room!" Gabriella exclaimed.

Sitting up, Taylor replied, "Why not? It's not like they're doing anything."

"They are, actually," Kelsi responded. Then, when the other two glanced at her, she explained, "I passed Troy's room. He and Chad were cleaning it. A.k.a., throwing all of Troy's dirty underwear under his bed."

"Ew," Taylor groaned, shivering in disgust.

Gabriella laughed. "He's so paranoid I'm going to go through his stuff. Like I care if he has a Playboy under his bed." When her friends stared at her, she assured them, "It's just an example. I wouldn't know."

"Good. I'd keep it that way. Who knows what a sixteen-year-old boy has in his room," Taylor suggested.

Opening some of the boxes so they could begin to unpack, Kelsi asked, "Speaking of which, how are you feeling about all of this, Gabi?"

"I don't know," Gabriella admitted. "I didn't really care about my old house, so the fact that we have to move doesn't bother me. I'm used to that. And, honestly, if my mom started dating anyone else and I was moving in with someone else's teenage son I wouldn't mind."

"But since you're stuck with Troy?" Taylor pressed.

Sitting on the bed next to Taylor, Gabriella answered, "This is going to drive me crazy. It's hard enough avoiding him at school. How am I going to avoid him in my own house?"

"I'm sure it won't be too bad," Kelsi reasoned. "If you think about it, you two are so busy that you'll hardly see each other. I mean, how often were you home before?"

"I guess. And as long as I stay in my room I should be okay," Gabriella agreed.

Nodding, Taylor added, "Yeah! And you know you're welcome to stay over my house any time you get sick of Mr. Basketball Star."

"That goes for me too," Kelsi said.

Giving them a grateful smile, Gabriella replied, "Thanks guys."

"Hey, it's what we're here for," Taylor remarked.

About to agree, Kelsi paused, then pointed out, "You know, Gabi, this might be good for you and Troy."

"Oh, right," Taylor retorted, sarcasm in her tone, "I'm sure moving in together is great for any couple that's just broken up."

Making an aggravated face at Taylor, Kelsi explained, "Listen to me. When you and Troy broke up, you said you wanted to stay friends, right?"

"Yeah, that's worked out," Gabriella huffed.

Kelsi put a hand on her hip. "Look, all I'm saying is that you two might reconcile faster if you're forced into the same house. At school, it's too easy to drift so far apart that you never see each other again. Now, you _have_ to be friends again. You're going to be a family, for crying out loud."

"Not yet," Taylor argued. "It's not like their parents are engaged."

"I didn't even think about that. Maybe I'll only have to live with Troy for a few weeks!" Gabriella exclaimed, new hope in her voice. While she had heard Kelsi's suggestion, she just wasn't sure if she was ready to consider being friends with Troy again. True, she would regret it if she and him were _never_ as close as they were, but at the same time…living with him seemed like it would be too much to handle.

And she would be lying if she said she hadn't been considering this situation permanent. Every once in a while she'd forced herself to think about what it would be like to have Troy as a brother. As weird and gross as that sounded.

"Well, it was a suggestion," Kelsi sighed, distracting Gabriella from her self-reflection.

"Don't get me wrong, Kelsi, I know what you mean," Gabriella assured her, then opened another box. At least now she could get herself lost in unpacking for a while. "We'll have to see what happens."

* * *

"So, Gabriella's living right next door. That's gotta suck," Chad laughed, balling up a pair of Troy's socks that had been on the floor and pitching them into the closet. 

Shrugging, Troy replied, "Hopefully we won't see each other. I mean, we didn't see each other when we were _dating_."

"I hope for your sake you're right," Chad replied, kicking a notebook so it slid under a dresser.

Troy shook his head at his friend's cynicism. "This won't be so bad. You know, when we had dinner last week we both said we wanted things to be better between us. I would've talked to her during the week but I just didn't have time…"

"Talked to her? Dude, are you crazy?" Chad exclaimed.

In the middle of sorting through his sports magazines, Troy paused and looked at him. "Yeah, why?"

"After what she did to you?" Chad let out an exaggerated groan. "I gotta tell you, if Taylor ever did anything like that I'd never want to talk to her again."

Troy smirked. "What does Taylor have to do with this?"

"Nothing!" Chad protested quickly. "I just meant…you know…if _any_ girl…"

"Sure you did," Troy laughed, going back to his magazines.

Chad glared at him as he resumed cleaning. "Seriously. You're really going to talk to her?"

"Yeah," Troy replied. "I think she really wants to. And we're going to live together. I can't stay mad at her forever."

"You can try," Chad retorted.

Staring at him, Troy asked, "Why would I want to do that?"

"Uh, maybe 'cause she _dumped_ you?" Chad exclaimed, as if that answer should have been obvious. "And 'cause she trashed you in front of her friends? _And_ Sharpay?"

"She didn't know Sharpay was there," Troy argued. Though what Chad was saying made sense, he couldn't bring himself to be mad at Gabriella. Whenever he did, he would remember how sweet she usually was and all traces of anger would vanish.

Clapping a hand on Troy's shoulder, Chad insisted, "Dude, she's still got you under her 'girlfriend spell.' Snap out of it. You gotta do something to get back your dignity, man."

"I don't want to hurt Gabi," Troy said, though the conviction in his voice was wearing thin.

Chad rolled his eyes. "You don't have to hurt her. Just humiliate her. After all, isn't what she did to you in front of Sharpay? I mean, the chic now knows you take ten minutes to get your hair perfect!"

"Why would I care what Sharpay thinks?" Troy responded, running his hand through his hair as he spoke.

"Isn't it obvious? She digs you," Chad informed him. "And I know you probably don't like her. But if you want to get back at Gabi any time soon, the Ice Queen is your only option."

Raising an eyebrow, Troy reasoned, "Look, I don't mean to be conceited or anything, but I'm pretty sure I can get a date with anyone other than Sharpay."

"But _think_ about it. Who can get on Gabi's nerves better than Sharpay?" Chad pointed out.

Troy hesitated, then argued, "I don't know, man. Getting back at an ex-girlfriend by going out with someone else? That seems so…'clichéd sitcom plot'-like."

"Well, yeah. But why do you think it is a clichéd sitcom plot? 'Cause it works," Chad retorted. "And, you know, if you want to drive her crazy at home too, you could."

Taking the suggestion into consideration, Troy paused. While he wasn't sure if he was ready to date Sharpay, the idea of driving Gabriella up a wall from the home front was tempting. Stuffing the organized pile of sports magazines back under his bed, Troy said, "I'll think about it."

* * *

Sharpay smiled to herself as she reapplied her makeup. Though it was the middle of the school day, she, Gabriella and Kelsi were holding an extra private rehearsal. Their reasoning was, since they happened to have free period at the same time, why not get some use out of it? Mrs. Darbus even agreed to not only let them use the auditorium, but be there to give them advice also. 

But that wasn't what had Sharpay smiling at that moment. That was due to how _perfect_ rehearsal had gone. Her version of "There Are Worse Things I Could Do" was amazing, and even Mrs. Darbus had given her a standing ovation.

Then there was the best part of the period. Right after she was done, Gabriella practiced the reprisal of "Look At Me I'm Sandra Dee." And stunk.

_So what if Gabriella and Troy just broke up,_ Sharpay thought. _She dumped _him_. And there's the matter of professionalism. A good actress never lets her emotions get in the way of a good performance._

She'd made sure to point out that fact to Mrs. Darbus.

Maybe, just maybe, if Sharpay pressed enough, the drama teacher would rethink her casting for the lead all together.

About to put on more eye shadow, her hand froze. She could hear, very clearly, Gabriella and Kelsi having a conversation a few feet away at another vanity.

Sharpay didn't even pretend to debate of the morality of eavesdropping. She listened to the conversation as she continued to fix her makeup.

"_This is going to be a nightmare," Gabriella was saying._

_After a moment's hesitation, Kelsi replied, "I'm sure you'll be able to focus soon."_

"_Not the play. Troy!"_

"_Oh, right. So, how is your new roomie?"_

"_He's _not_ my 'new roomie.' He's in the room _next_ to me."_

"_Same difference. I still can't believe you two are living in the same house. Heck, I can't believe Mrs. Montez and Mr. Bolton are in a relationship. You two could be stepsiblings!"_

"_Please, don't remind me. I nearly walked in him when I went to use the bathroom this morning."_

"_Oh, awkward."_

"_No kidding."_

The makeup brush Sharpay had been holding clattered to the vanity table top.

_No, it can't be!_ She thought, barely able to contain the excited squeal she felt rising in her throat. _Pinch me, I _must_ be dreaming!_

Gabriella and Troy living together? This had to be the mother of all gossip!

Shoving all her makeup in her purse, Sharpay almost ran down the stage steps, unnoticed by the other two girls. On her way out, however, she bumped into Mrs. Darbus.

"Young lady, where do you think you're going?" Mrs. Darbus chided. "I'm disappointed in you, Sharpay. We've still got another fifteen minutes left in the class."

Sharpay stood there for what felt like forever while she grasped for an excuse. "I…I'm just…." Then inspiration struck. "I-I wanted to give Gabriella some space. She might be able to focus better on her next performance without an audience. I know I can be a little intimidating." Almost holding her breath, she waited to see if the teacher would buy it.

The teacher's normally aggravated face softened, brightened by a smile. "That's very considerate of you. But don't dawdle out in the hall for long – I want you to run through 'Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee' one more time."

"No problem. I promise I'll be back soon," Sharpay replied. Then she raced towards the auditorium doors into the hallway.

Fishing around in her purse, she found her cell phone and pressed a number. _Thank God for speed dial_, she thought. After two rings, the other person picked up. "Ryan! It's me. You are _so_ not going to believe this!"


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Rolling over in bed and switching her blaring alarm off, Gabriella sat up. The first few days in her new room had been hard to get used to. Each time she awoke she would get that feeling people usually get when they wake up in a strange place and aren't sure where they are for a brief second.

For the first time, however, this morning, after she wiped her eyes, she instantly recognized the closet doors across the room. She figured that must be a sign that she was adjusting to her new home.

Forcing herself to her feet, she thought about her day ahead while she gathered the various objects she would need for the shower. _Let's see, today's Tuesday…_Gabriella thought. _That means I have drama club _and_ science club. Which means I won't get home until well after 5 'o clock. That's great, just great._

She hated late days even more now than before she moved. Now, if she stayed after school too long, she would have to go home with Mr. Bolton and Troy. On her early days, when she only had drama club, her mom let her catch a ride home with Kelsi, who'd just gotten her drivers' license.

Her schedule wasn't the only aspect of her routine she'd had to change. She felt like she had to tiptoe around the house when the guys were home. If she did happen to run into Troy or Mr. Bolton, it was awkward. When she did run into Troy, they quickly mumbled "excuse me" and went around each other. But with Mr. Bolton it was different. He would say hello, ask her how school was going…and then there would be a more awkward silence than when they first crossed paths. Gabriella could tell that she and her potential stepfather would have some bonding issues in the future.

She'd already talked about it with her mother. Though her mom had been disappointed to hear that her daughter didn't like their new living situation, she agreed not to continue her relationship with Mr. Bolton if it made Gabriella unhappy. But Gabriella would have to at least try to get along with him before Theresa did anything definite.

_How can I possibly get along with Mr. Bolton?_ Gabriella thought. _I'm in the school play; he hates the drama club. He coaches the basketball team; I can't stand sports. His son is Troy, who I broke up with. How are we supposed to find common ground?_ She'd have to give that some more deliberation.

She sighed as she grabbed her robe off the hook in the closet. _Another thing that's changed,_ she thought. When it was just her and her mom, she used to take her clothes into the bathroom with her and get dressed as soon as she dried off. Now she was so afraid that someone would walk in on her - she'd discovered very quickly that the lock on the bathroom needed to be fixed – that she got out of there as fast she could.

It was small things like bringing her robe into the bathroom that irritated her most – setting two extra places for dinner, keeping her stereo low when Mr. Bolton needed to do paperwork, not being able to keep her coat in the hall closet because of all the basketball gear…The little annoyances that she knew she should adapt to seemed to drive her absolutely nuts.

Gathering the rest of the items she would need, Gabriella stepped into the hallway, closing her door behind her. Lost in her thoughts, she turned the doorknob. Finding it stuck, she jiggled it and got the door open…

"Oh my gosh!" Gabriella screamed, running back out into the hallway, slamming the door and taking a few deep breaths.

Troy had been naked.

He'd been stepping out of the shower, and he'd been naked.

Before she could think anything else, the door opened behind her and Troy stormed out into the hallway, a towel secured around his waist. "What the hell was that?"

"I'm sorry!" Gabriella exclaimed. "I'm so sorry!"

Troy glared at her. "Don't you knock? Don't you hear running water? Don't you think when a door is _locked_, you shouldn't go in?"

"I'm sorry!" Gabriella repeated, tears welling in her eyes. "I'd just gotten out of bed, I wasn't thinking, I thought the door was jammed…"

Shaking his head, Troy interrupted, "You know, I don't want to hear it." Then he paused on his way back into the bathroom and pointed his index finger in her face. "This…_thing_. Never happened. Got it?"

"G-got it," Gabriella managed, her breath getting heavier the longer Troy held his finger inches from her eye. Then he whirled around and slammed the door closed on his way into the bathroom.

Not knowing what else to do, Gabriella ran back into her room. Just as she was about to grab a tissue to wipe her eyes, her cell phone rang. "Hello?"

"Girl, get your butt down here now."

Gabriella hesitated, not sure she could handle one crisis on top of another. "T-taylor? What's going on?"

"It's an em…hey, are you okay? Your voice sounds shaky."

Gabriella shook her head even though her friend couldn't see it. "No, I'm fine. I….just woke up. Now what's the emergency?"

"The Ice Queen strikes again."

"What did Sharpay do now?" Gabriella breathed, unsure if she wanted to hear the answer.

"She squealed. It's all over school that you're living with Troy."

So shocked she found herself unable to move, Gabriella gasped, "_What_? How did she…when did she…"

"I don't know, girl. But you gotta get down here fast to put out the fire. Kids are already starting to come in."

Gabriella glanced at the clock to find it was a little past seven. "Okay, be there as soon as I can. What are you doing there so early?"

"I have a project for science class I need to work on. And it's a good thing I do. I've heard a couple of people say that you're moving into Troy's house 'cause he got you pregnant."

"What? That's ridiculous!" Gabriella exclaimed, outraged. "He and I never even…oh, I'll be right there." Then she hung up the phone, gathered her stuff, and hurried out the door to use the downstairs shower.

* * *

Troy leaned against the bathroom door, cold sweat mixing with the water still on his body. Embarrassment flushed his face, and he was sure if he chose to look in the mirror he'd see that it was bright red. His heart was pounding, causing him to press one hand to his chest while the other kept the towel from falling to his shaking knees.

_Gabriella Montez saw me naked._

It was a horrifying thought, but it kept replaying in his head, over and over and over. He was sure it'd be days, weeks even, before he'd be able to think anything else. If they'd still been dating, the situation would've been different. Still humiliating, but different.

But Gabriella was his _ex_-girlfriend. His private areas were supposed to be, well, _private_.

_Maybe she didn't see anything_, Troy reasoned. _After all, I was pretty quick grabbing that towel._ But he knew it was a lie, something he invented to make himself feel better. He'd seen the look on her face. No one gets that look from just seeing a guy in a towel.

Letting out a deep breath, Troy forced himself to calm down. _It's going to be okay. It's going to…_

Oh God. What if she told someone?

_No, she wouldn't…would she?_ Troy panicked. _Why didn't you make her do a pinky swear or something, you idiot?_

_Maybe 'cause I'm not five-years-old?_

Troy shook his head, effectively stopping his internal argument with himself. Going over to the sink, he wiped the steam off the mirror and picked up his hair brush. Then he thought better of it and put on his clothes first.

Later on, after a car ride with his dad and Gabriella that should've been listed under "awkward" in the dictionary, Troy was opening his locker and talking to Chad.

"…can you _believe_ Taylor answered that question in science class yesterday? How does she know all that stuff?" Chad wondered aloud, spinning a basketball around in his hands.

When Troy only nodded in response, Chad closed the locker door with a slam. Blinking in surprise, Troy exclaimed, "What'd you do that for?"

"We should make a new rule," Chad huffed. "If you don't want to listen to me, just say so."

Though he should feel guilty, Troy's foul mood doubled. "Okay. I don't want to listen to you. Happy?"

Chad's jaw fell open, stunned. Before his friend could walk away, Chad kept up Troy's pace. "What's _wrong_ man?"

"Nothing," Troy answered. He knew he would probably get rid of Chad quicker if he put up a front and said everything was fine, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Rolling his eyes, Chad pressed, "You always do this. Every time something bad happens you keep it all bottled up."

"And there's a problem with that?" Troy snapped.

"No. It's just an observation," Chad replied. "But I don't think it's good for you. You know, for your health."

Resisting the urge to ram his hand into Chad's face, Troy took a few deep breaths. "Okay! I'll tell you! But you gotta promise not to tell _anybody_."

"I promise," Chad swore, his curiosity showing on his face.

Troy looked around, making sure no one was eavesdropping. He even checked around the corner. Satisfied, he cleared his throat and whispered, "Gabriellawalkedinonme."

"What?" Chad asked.

Lowering his voice some more, Troy explained, "Gabriella _walked in_ on me. In the bathroom. When I was getting out of the shower."

"Oh…" Chad gasped, giving a vain attempt to conceal his amusement. "Did she see…_anything_?"

Troy leaned back against a nearby locker. "Yes."

"Wow, that sucks!" Chad exclaimed, losing control and doubling over in laughter. He had his hands on knees, the basketball sliding out of his hands and rolling down the hallway. At Troy's steady glare, he sobered up as best he could, ran to get the basketball, and stood next to his friend. "I-I mean, I'm sorry. What are you gonna do?"

Narrowing his eyes in clear agitation, Troy answered, "I don't know, ignore it I guess. Hope there will come a day where I can run into Gabriella and she won't look down."

"That's _it_?" Chad exclaimed. "She walks in on you, and you're going to let her get away with it?"

Troy shrugged. The truth was, he wasn't as angry as he was embarrassed. "I don't see why I shouldn't. It was an accident."

"Are you sure?" Chad asked, raising his eyebrow in a suggestive manner.

"Of course I…" Troy trailed off, his eyes widening. _Maybe it_ wasn't_ an accident. I only turned the water off seconds before, and the door had been locked…_He shook his head in denial. "No. Gabi wouldn't do that. She's just not the…"

"Hi Troy!"

The two whirled around, finding Sharpay standing right next to them. _For someone who can yell at the top of her lungs without a moment's notice,_ Troy thought_, she can sure be quiet when she wants to be._ "Sharpay, hi. I didn't see you come up."

"Hi Sharpay," Chad greeted.

"Oh, hi," Sharpay replied, then turned her attention back on Troy. "I hope you're still coming to the Winter musical even though you and Gabriella aren't together. I'd _love_ to see you in the audience."

Squirming a little under the blonde's gaze, Troy said, "Um, I don't know. I might…have basketball practice."

"We're performing every weekend in December until break. I'm sure you'll be able to find some time to come," Sharpay insisted.

Sharing a trapped look with Chad, Troy relented, "Um, okay then Sounds great."

"That's fantastic! Toodles!" Sharpay waved, continuing on down the hallway.

Smirking, Chad remarked, "Aw, she didn't invite me. I'm devastated."

"Don't worry, I'm sure I can get you a ticket," Troy retorted. Glancing at the clock and realizing he needed to go to class, he started walking in the opposite direction Sharpay had gone.

Walking alongside him, Chad asked, "You know I was joking, right? The last thing I want to do is go to a stupid high school musical."

"I knew," Troy replied, an amused grin on his face. No way he was going to this thing alone.

Chad sighed. "So anyway, what _do_ you think about Sharpay? And what I said that day at your house?"

"I don't know. Maybe," Troy admitted.

Smiling, Chad encouraged, "Hey, a 'maybe'! That's progress!"

"Sharpay's not _that_ bad. And she's hot," Troy reasoned. "And at least if I started dating someone girls would stop staring at my abs when I walk down a hallway."

Chad laughed. "I don't know about that last one, but I say ask her out. It's not like you have to marry her, or even go on a second date."

"Yeah, you're right," Troy agreed. "I'll ask her to come to the game on Friday."

* * *

"I did _not_ say that!" Sharpay argued. It was lunchtime, and she was sitting at her usual spot with the other drama club members, including her brother. They were all asking her about Troy and Gabriella living together.

Relieved, one girl asked, "You mean she's _not_ pregnant?"

"Well…" Sharpay hesitated. While it would be interesting to let the rumor run its course, she just couldn't do it. Pregnancy was a whole other level of rumors that she had promised herself she wouldn't reach. "Yes. Gabriella Montez is _not_ pregnant."

There was a collective sigh from all the girls sitting at the table. Finally one of them asked, "Then why are they living together?"

"I think that her mom is dating Troy's dad. Something like that," Sharpay answered. _Oh well, it'd been a good rumor while it lasted._

After taking in the information, someone remarked, "I thought Troy's parents were still married."

"They were, but they're getting divorced," another girl replied. "I heard the cheerleaders and jocks talking about it one day."

_Cheerleaders and jocks,_ Sharpay mused, watching as an animated conversation about Troy and Gabriella's personal lives began. Yes, the couple certainly made their mark on East High, as the first couple to break status quo barriers. During the time they were dating, other students followed the trend.

However, East High as a whole was still the same. Excusing herself from the table, Sharpay wandered over to the balcony that jutted over the rest of the cafeteria. She could point out the different cliques as if the boundaries were drawn for her on a map. There were the famed jocks and cheerleaders, the skaters, the Goths, the academics, and the preppies. Sometimes, standing where she was now, she felt like the queen of East High, looking down at the different groups of subjects. It didn't help that some of the students she was on good terms with often saw her and waved.

Her eyes narrowed when her gaze fell on the science club table. Gabriella and Taylor were standing, as if making a speech. _Probably quelling some of the rumors_, Sharpay thought, a brief superior smirk crossing her lips. _It doesn't make sense. Gabriella has the lead in the school play. She should be sitting with us._

Not that she cared to have oh-so-sweet Gabriella Montez as lunchtime company. It was for form, plain and simple. The drama club was not portrayed in the best light when the star of the school play didn't sit with them.

_Well, at least her reputation as "the missing link" will be taken down a notch now that she's not dating Troy,_ Sharpay thought. Even better if she started dating one of her own. In a sense, that's been why Sharpay had been going after Troy with renewed vengeance. If _she_, a drama club member, dated a basketball star, then _she_ would be viewed as another "missing link," another brave soul trying to bridge the gap between cliques.

Plus, the fact that Troy was hot and now the number one bachelor of East High couldn't hurt.

"Sharpay?"

Startled, Sharpay glanced up. She was a bit surprised to see Troy standing next to her. After all, she wasn't dense – she could tell when people weren't especially fond of her. Of course, it was usually a while before she changed their minds. "Hi Troy. What's up?"

"Well, you know how…there's the basketball game on Friday?" Troy began.

Her heart pounding with excitement, Sharpay nodded. "Yeah, I think I heard something about that. Against West High, right?"

"Right," Troy agreed. She could tell he was nervous, with the way he wouldn't make eye contact and was wiping his hands on his jeans. "Um," he continued, "Well, since you invited me to the play and all, it'd be cool if you could come to the basketball game, at four 'o clock. And if you wanted to, you know, get dinner afterwards, that'd be cool too."

_I can't believe it!_ On the outside, she was calm, her arm casually brushing the banister. On the inside…it felt like her heart was doing jumping jacks. "Troy Bolton," she said, raising her voice just a little so the others at the table could hear. "Are you asking me out on a date?"

Silence. Those sitting at the table froze, quieting each other so they could listen. Down below, the science club table and Gabriella, who happened to be close enough, also didn't make a sound.

"Y-yes," Troy sputtered, obviously aware of the sudden attention.

Smiling, Sharpay leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "That's a yes. See you at four on Friday."

"Yeah, see you," Troy muttered, managing a smile as he nearly ran out of the cafeteria. Out of the corner of her eye, Sharpay saw Gabriella leave the room as well, Taylor close behind.

Sharpay was so happy she could squeal. _No, everyone's watching. Act calm. Like popular athletes asked you out every day._ Tossing her hair behind her back, she strutted back to her table and sat down. Pretending that she _hadn't_ known she'd been the subject of attention, she feigned a confused look. "What are you all staring at?"


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Sorry about the long wait! I have so many other fics and stories I'm writing it's enough to make myself dizzy sometimes, lol. The next chapter should be up soon, as this was supposed to be longer but I decided to divide it into two separate chapters.

Thanks for all the reviews so far!

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Troy made himself blink a few times to keep his eyes open. Taking a long sip of soda, he nodded in agreement to whatever Sharpay was saying. The two were on their first date that Friday at a local restaurant. Nothing too fancy, just an average place where many East High couples went for an affordable date.

While on any other day Sharpay may have been mildly interesting, Troy couldn't seem to focus. The Wildcats won the game mere hours ago and he'd much rather be at the after-party with his friends. They'd talked about the game at first, of course. Every other sentence that came out of Sharpay's mouth was a compliment on his basketball skills, and she had held up her part of the conversation when he recounted a few parts of the game that were memorable.

Then he'd made the mistake of asking what she'd been up to lately. It turned out that Sharpay's favorite subject was…Sharpay. Big surprise there.

"…uh huh…yeah…can't believe that either…" Troy muttered, in response to Sharpay sharing a bit of gossip that he didn't care about in the least.

Waving a hand in dismissal of the topic, Sharpay drank some of her water. "Anyway, that's really all on the gossip front. If anyone asks, say you got the information from me."

"Will do," Troy replied, though he doubted he'd be spreading gossip any time soon. He was wondering why she hadn't brought up the play yet. It was possible that she was avoiding the subject because of Gabriella, but he thought that might be giving her too much credit. She probably just hadn't gotten around to it yet. Troy didn't mind asking – he was desperate for a topic change, and as long as they didn't mention Gabriella he could actually enjoy himself. "So, how's the play?"

Sharpay hesitated, a frown crossing her face for a brief second. "Oh. Um, it's okay. The usual, rehearsals, trying on costumes…so, I heard that the girl who's playing Frenchie…"

Raising an eyebrow, Troy tried to make sense of what just happened. He'd asked about the drama club, something she loved…and she glossed over it. Then it hit him. _She's ticked that she doesn't have the lead._ Oh, no. If he had to listen to her ramble on, he was going to make her talk about something _he_ liked. "As interesting as that is, I really want to know how the play's coming. I wish I could've auditioned, but I didn't have time."

"I told you how the play's coming," Sharpay replied through gritted teeth.

Troy shook his head. "No you didn't. Come on, I want to know what I'm missing."

"Nothing much," Sharpay finally said. "Some of us meet during our free period to practice. It's a pretty tame cast; we just rehearse and meet on the weekends sometimes. You know Troy, we should audition together for the winter musical. I bet the two of us could beat out all other competition."

Not responding right away, Troy considered her offer. Auditioning didn't feel right without Gabriella, not since the almost magical way they'd sung "Breaking Free" last year. But if he ever wanted to be in a musical again he would need to get over it. Though he and Gabriella said they would pick things up where they left off, somehow he didn't see that happening now. While he really wasn't crazy about the idea he replied, "Yeah, that sounds great. But don't you usually audition with Ryan?"

"He'll get over it!" Sharpay squealed, almost bouncing in her seat from excitement.

Troy managed to crack a bigger smile so his lack of enthusiasm wouldn't be too obvious. "That's nice of him."

"Nice nothing. I think he would've dumped me for Gabriella next year anyway," Sharpay shrugged.

_That_ piqued Troy's curiosity. "W-what…Ryan likes Gabriella?"

"You know, Troy," Sharpay began, annoyance in her tone. "It's rude to talk about your ex-girlfriend when you're on a date with someone else."

"And it's rude to speak about something for the whole date when someone else doesn't really care," Troy snapped. He instantly regretted it when Sharpay looked shocked, but he hadn't been able to help himself. His patience was already wearing thin.

Recovering after a split second, Sharpay retorted in a furious whisper, "Well, if you don't care about anything I do, why the hell did you ask me out?"

Troy paused, not wanting to admit he'd used her to get back at Gabriella, partly because he felt bad and partly because he was ashamed of using such a tired revenge tactic. "I…I…wait, if you don't care about what _I_ care about, why did _you_ say yes, huh?"

"I asked you first!" Sharpay exclaimed.

Massaging his forehead, Troy replied, "Okay, let's face it. We both have ulterior motives for being here tonight. I mean, I think we can both agree that neither of us really like each other."

"Yeah. Sorry Troy, you're cute and all, but the jock thing isn't my type," Sharpay agreed.

Troy raised an eyebrow, somewhat insulted. Shaking his head, he said, "So, yeah. What's your motive?"

"You first," Sharpay answered, taking a bite of one of her neglected fries.

Not wanting to seem impolite, Troy chewed some of his burger while he figured out the right phrasing. "Um, well, see it started when Gabi and I broke up, and some stuff happened that I've wanted to get back at her for…"

Sharpay nodded in understanding. "So you thought that dating me would really get under her skin. I can appreciate that. Didn't know you had it in you, Bolton."

"I didn't, really. It was Chad's idea," Troy explained, blushing. "What about you?"

Running her fingers through her hair, Sharpay confessed, "The status. I mean, you're the most popular guy in school. Every girl wishes she were me right now. And as an added bonus, we're another 'across status quo barriers' couple that everyone's talking about."

"Sharpay, why does that matter to you so much?" Troy asked after a second.

Sharpay wrinkled her brow. "What do you mean?"

"What everyone thinks. Having everyone look at you," Troy explained. He was beginning to see why Sharpay behaved how she did. After an evening of talking to her, he noticed that all she ever talked about herself in the context of _other_ people, if that made any sense. He suspected that under that…cockiness and selfishness Sharpay Evans was a very insecure person.

After a moment of sitting in silence, Sharpay replied, "I don't know. It's high school. You're supposed to be worried about what other people think. And, I dunno, it just makes me feel good."

"I guess it would," Troy agreed. He could see that Sharpay was getting uncomfortable and decided to drop the subject. It was a shame, though – he was actually having fun now that Sharpay had gotten rid of the "Ice Princess" act.

Sharpay pushed around the leftover French fries on her plate in response. When Troy gave her a worried look, she asked, "Troy…is that really the only reason you asked me out? To get back at Gabriella?"

"That, and so girls would stop hounding me for a date," Troy joked. He paused when she realized that she'd been serious. "Look, Sharpay…you're definitely hot. And you've got the drama club thing down pat. But there's not that much else. People aren't going to want to…date you, talk to you, be your friend…if you don't show concern about them. Make them feel like you're worth talking to. I'm sorry, but I think it's time someone told you that."

Lowering her eyes, Sharpay didn't say anything for a long minute. Finally she sighed. "I know. It's just hard to care about other people when not many care about me."

"Oh," Troy replied lamely. _I'm a jerk. A big, fat jerk._ Of course he had no right to judge her. He barely knew her. _It's okay. You're just tired from the basketball game and being bored…who are you kidding, you're a jerk._ "I'm sorry."

Sharpay shook her head. "No, it's okay. I have issues, but don't we all?" Giving a nervous chuckle, she asked, "So what are we going to do about this situation?"

"This situation?" Troy questioned.

Indicating the space between them, Sharpay explained, "Us. Everyone at school thinks we're dating. And we don't want to date each other. Do we just…not go out again?"

"I don't know about that," Troy replied with a smile on his face. He was getting a brilliant idea. "You still want the status, right?"

Sharpay shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

"And I still want to get girls off my back. And drive Gabi nuts," Troy continued, his smile growing wider.

Grinning, Sharpay clapped her hands in eagerness. "I like the way you think, Bolton."

"Are you sure you don't mind?" Troy asked. "Aren't you dating someone else too? Or did you break up with him?"

Rolling her eyes, Sharpay waved a hand. "Please. Michael and I were barely going out, and I don't even like him that much. He won't be devastated when I break it off, that's for sure."

"So it's set then. We'll pretend to date," Troy said.

Sharpay giggled and raised her glass in toast. "To the start of a beautiful relationship."

Smiling as he clinked her glass with his, Troy added, "And the biggest scam East High has ever seen."

* * *

Sitting in an auditorium seat, Gabriella watched as Sharpay sang the opening lines of "There Are Worst Things I Could Do." She wasn't paying attention though. Her head in her hands, Gabriella's mind wandered back to thoughts of Troy and "Rizzo."

It hadn't taken long for word to spread of their date on Friday night. Gabriella was at the basketball game after-party (Taylor dragged her there after she'd been invited by Chad). At first she was relieved that Troy wasn't there…and then she'd been crushed seconds later when she overheard a cheerleader say that he was on a date with Sharpay. She'd spent the rest of the night wondering if Troy and Sharpay were hitting it off.

That was, of course, after she asked another cheerleader to confirm the information. _I still can't believe it,_ Gabriella thought with a sigh. It was strange that Troy would ask Sharpay out when he never even expressed interest in her before. True, since Gabriella had been his girlfriend he wouldn't have told her if he did. But it was still the rare occurrence when the two would even talk to each other…or, Sharpay would talk and Troy would politely listen.

It could be that Troy just wanted a girlfriend. _But he could have anyone in the junior class! Heck, he could have anyone in the _senior_ class,_ Gabriella reasoned, not without some jealousy. _Why on Earth would he choose _Sharpay

She wished that he _had_ chosen anyone else. It was bad enough that her ex-boyfriend was dating again. Now he was dating one of her only enemies.

"Gabriella?"

_He couldn't like her…could he?_ Gabriella continued to think.

"Gabriella?"

_I mean, what does he see in her? He always called her the Ice Queen…_

"Ms. Montez!"

Gabriella's head snapped up at Ms. Darbus' yell. Shaking her head, she gave the drama teacher a confused look. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Be ready in five minutes," Ms. Darbus huffed. "And please focus on the dress rehearsal, not whatever else may occupy your thoughts."

"Sorry Ms. Darbus," Gabriella mumbled, getting out of her seat and stretching. It wasn't an easy feat, and she almost tripped over her red high heels. _There's no way I'm going to be able to walk in these, let alone dance._

They were doing an informal dress rehearsal before opening night on Friday. While they would run though the play from beginning to end on Thursday, they were rehearsing in costume every day this week. She was currently dressed in her "bad Sandy" outfit, from the end of the movie where Sandy dresses up in skin-tight pants and matching top.

Since they wouldn't be able to curl her hair in the time they had, she was wearing a curly brown wig that resembled her temporarily-straightened hair. Her make-up was overdone so that it would be visible through the bright stage lights, and her outfit consisted of a black top and tight black pants that the costume department had made out of a shiny material.

Gabriella couldn't have looked less like herself or been more uncomfortable if she tried.

"Hey, Gabi, are you alright?" Kelsi asked, coming up to Gabriella's side dressed in her Pink Ladies costume.

Shrugging, Gabriella assured her, "I'm fine. Just nervous about opening night."

"And wondering if Troy likes Sharpay?" Kelsi added. When Gabriella raised a surprised eyebrow, she explained, "It's so obvious that this is bothering you. Every time someone so much as mentions Troy _or_ Sharpay your voice gets all squeaky."

Gabriella's shoulders sagged. "I'm sorry, but I can't figure it. Why would Troy ask her out? He doesn't even like her."

"My poor, naïve Gabi," Kelsi sighed, putting an arm around her friend.

Wrinkling her brow, Gabriella asked, "What?"

"Don't you see? He's doing this to drive you nuts," Kelsi explained.

Gabriella shook her head. "No, he wouldn't do that. He's not like that, Kelsi."

"Is there any other logical explanation?" Kelsi insisted. "I mean, you and Sharpay are two totally different women. He couldn't like the both of you."

Lowering her eyes, Gabriella admitted, "That's what I've been wondering. Did he really like me if he seems to like her?"

"Gabi, he loved _you_. He's _using_ Sharpay," Kelsi replied with conviction. "Stop doubting yourself."

_She's right, it makes absolute sense,_ Gabriella thought, feeling much better…at least with regards to her self-esteem. Now she had to worry about Troy's "plan" to make her jealous; it just didn't sound like something he would do. "Taylor says I should get back at him too. Date someone else."

"Good idea. Well, maybe not for revenge…but it would do you good to be in a relationship," Kelsi agreed.

Liking the idea, Gabriella scanned the auditorium. She'd prefer if her new boyfriend was someone in the drama or science club; she wasn't brave enough to break status quo again. And while she wasn't too shallow…it was generally accepted that drama club boys were more attractive than those in the science club.

Her gaze fell on Ryan. Gabriella tilted her head, considering the idea. He wasn't ugly, that was for sure. And the few times they talked, she'd enjoyed herself. It wouldn't be a sacrifice to go on one date with him.

Plus it would be ironic if she started going out with Troy's girlfriend's twin.

"Ryan Evans? Really?" Kelsi asked, following Gabriella's gaze.

Gabriella shrugged. "Why not? He's in the drama club, he's cute, and I've seen him reading a few times. We could have a lot in common."

"And he _could_ be a self-centered jerk like his sister," Kelsi scoffed.

The thought had entered her mind, and Gabriella knew that he could be cocky at times. But she'd take the good with the bad as she didn't see anyone better. "Still, it wouldn't be the worst to go out with him. And I think he wants to ask me too. He's flirted with me during a few rehearsals."

"Well, go for it," Kelsi said in a nonchalant tone. "Couldn't hurt."

Her eyes still on Ryan, Gabriella climbed the steps of the stage as the opening bars of "You're the One That I Want" began to play. When Ryan, as Danny, fell to his knees and threw his school sweater to the side, Gabriella let out a deep breath. "No, it certainly couldn't."


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

_I hate weekends,_ Troy thought. It was Saturday and he was in his room, playing with a basketball and signing on to his laptop. He'd much rather be hanging out with his friends, but his dad had wanted him to spend at least part of the day shooting hoops. Thankfully he offered to do some errands for Mrs. Montez and Troy could take a break for a while.

At least during the week he was so busy that he wasn't home the majority of the time. Now, on the weekends, he had to worry about bumping into Gabriella, who was staying home to go over her lines and practice the musical numbers. Sometimes she went over Kelsi's, but for the most part she practiced in her room.

And she was really getting on Troy's nerves.

He tried to grin and bear it. After all, he was still feeling a little guilty about his deal with Sharpay. Then again, he'd heard during the week that Gabriella and Ryan would be going on a date soon. _That_ was driving him nuts too. He knew _he_ was only "dating" Sharpay to get back her. But…was _she_ going out with Ryan to get back at _him_ or did she really want to go out with him? And then he had to wonder, if _he_ wasn't ready to date yet, and _she_ was, what did that say about their relationship?

_Listen to yourself! You sound like a chic!_ Troy chided himself. _It's probably Gabriella's non-stop _Grease_-fest. It's numbing your brain._

**BBallPlaya210:** Yo Troy, thought you were practicing

Shaking his head, Troy noticed the IM Chad sent him. Then he rolled his eyes. Sometimes, Troy didn't know who pressured him more, his father or his best friend. Tucking his basketball under his arm he replied:

**Skooliz4Zzzz:** I was, Mrs. Montez sent dad on some errands so I got a break

**BBallPlaya210:** Mrs. Montez…so how's that working for u?

**Skooliz4Zzzz:** alright, I guess, she's ok, trying to get on my good side. I can see y my dad likes her too, she's funny

**BBallPlaya210:** And miss drama club queen?

**Skooliz4Zzzz: **u mean Sharpay?

**BBallPlaya210:** no, the _other_ miss drama club queen

**Skooliz4Zzzz:** driving me nuts. She keeps practicing. I dunno why, opening night was last night, u'd think she'd be tired

**BBallPlaya210:** So? Tell her that the ability to hear is very important to u

**Skooliz4Zzzz: **lol, I dunno if she'd take that too well. And it's no big deal I guess, I'm going back outside soon anyway

**BBallPlaya210:** dude, you can't let her walk all over u. It's ur turf, she cant just come in and do whatever she wants

**Skooliz4Zzzz: **turf? I'm not a dog, dude, it's her home too now

**BBallPlaya210:** man, you can't sit there and tell me that if you were buggin' her, she wouldn't come in and tell you to shut up

**Skooliz4Zzzz: **tell her to shut up? She'd throw something at me

**BBallPlaya210:** u don't have to be so blunt, just ask her to keep it down or go somewhere else

**Skooliz4Zzzz: **fine, I cant stand this song anyway. Brb

Shooting the basketball into the hoop hanging on his wall, Troy walked into the hall. Though the door was half open he knocked anyway. The "shower incident" was still fresh in his mind.

After a few minutes she still hadn't come to the door. He supposed that was since the music of "Summer Nights" was playing so loud and that she was singing at the top of her lungs.

"Gabi?" Troy called as he walked in a few steps. Her back was to him, so she still didn't know he was there. Finally he got fed up and tapped his shoulder.

Gabriella shrieked and whirled around. Glaring at Troy, she lowered the volume of her stereo, demanding, "What the hell are you doing?"

"I-I'm sorry!" Troy sputtered, surprised by the anger in her eyes. Gabriella was _never_ angry. Hurt and disappointed, sure, but _angry_…"The door was open, you couldn't hear me because of the music…I'm sorry!"

Her hand on her hip, Gabriella replied, "Alright, alright. What do you want?"

"Gabi, I don't mean to be rude but can you turn it down?" Troy asked, still unnerved by her outburst.

Gabriella gave him an apologetic half-grin. "Sorry, but I need to keep it loud. It's how it is on stage. Mrs. Darbus said my voice wasn't quite loud enough last night when I sang so I have to work on it."

"You were fine last night from what I heard," Troy said. He'd gone to opening night as part of his "Sharpay's boyfriend" act, and it hadn't been torture. Though it had made him a little queasy watching Gabriella and Ryan kiss during the drive-in scene.

Narrowing her eyes, Gabriella pointed out, "But you were in the front row, thanks to Sharpay."

Troy hesitated. He thought he'd heard a small note of resentment in her tone when she'd said his "girlfriend's" name. "Look, I get that you need to rehearse. But this isn't an auditorium. There are other people in this house."

"Mom doesn't mind. And weren't you and Mr. Bolton practicing outside?" Gabriella argued.

Sighing, Troy tried to keep the patience in his voice. "We _were_. And we will go back outside later. But until then, can you please just keep it _down_?"

"Troy, this is _my_ room, isn't? I can do what I want," Gabriella huffed, turning the music back up.

_Why is she acting so unreasonable?_ Troy thought. Turning down the volume himself, Troy argued, "I'm not saying it isn't. You have every right to do whatever you want. It's just that your music is so loud I can't hear myself think!"

"Well, why do you need to think anyway?" Gabriella retorted. "What are you doing that's so important?"

"That's none of your business!" Troy exclaimed. So what if he was only talking to Chad online? She didn't have to know that.

Gabriella put a hand on her hip. "I don't see why you can't just put on your headphones and listen to your iPod! Is my singing really bothering you that much?"

"It's not your singing, that's fine," Troy was quick to say. The last thing that would help him now was insulting her singing voice. "I'm not the _biggest_ fan of _Grease_. I swear if I have to hear 'Summer Nights' one more time I'll be _puking_ 'till summer nights."

Giving him a sympathetic look that was dripping with insincerity, Gabriella retorted, "Oh no, whatever will you tell your girlfriend Sharpay when she asks you to come to the play again?"

"She'll have to deal with it," Troy shot back through gritted teeth.

"Look, I have to practice, so leave. I believe you can see yourself out." About to turn the music back up, Gabriella added, "And next time, _knock_." Then she turned the music up so loud it was hurting his ears.

_That's it. I tried asking nicely,_ Troy reasoned. Then he lowered the volume on his own.

"Hey! You can't touch my stuff!" Gabriella exclaimed, raising the volume.

Troy lowered it again. "Well maybe if you were being reasonable I wouldn't have to!"

Letting out an aggravated groan, she raised the volume. He lowered it a second later. They went back and forth, the music of "Hopelessly Devoted to You" rising and falling with each turn of the volume dial. Locked in a battle of wills and glaring at each other, the two eventually reached for the dial at the same time. Troy kept his hand where it was. No way was he giving in even a millisecond before she did.

* * *

"Come on, come on…" Taylor pleaded, along with everyone else in her last period science class. Normally she didn't mind if her favorite class went on for longer than it was supposed to, but today was different. Today was the last day of school before winter break. She could have sworn that if the clock was going any slower it would be going backwards. 

When it almost seemed like the second hand stood still, she stole a look at Gabriella, who gave a helpless shrug. She looked the other way, and suppressed a laugh when she spotted Chad slumped over his seat, sound asleep.

The bell finally rang. Chad's head popped up in confused stupor. "Wha…"

"Morning, sunshine," Taylor teased, getting up out of her seat and passing his desk. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to catch up on sleep during winter vacation."

Shaking his head, Chad grabbed his books and followed her into the hall. "Not really. Coach has us practicing _a lot_."

"Do you ever do anything other than play basketball, Danforth? Like, I dunno, shower?" Taylor asked, catching a whiff of him as he walked next to her.

Chad glared at her. "We had practice during free period and I didn't get a chance to shower, okay?"

"Okay. I'm just saying, you and Troy have practice _a lot_," Taylor explained.

Shrugging, Chad said, "I don't mind that, I love basketball. It's fun. Like how you spend so much time practicing for the Scholastic Decathlon. Why would you do it if you didn't enjoy it?"

"I guess," Taylor agreed, stopping when they came to her locker. "So, _are_ you doing anything over break besides playing basketball?"

Chad frowned. "I wish I wasn't, but I got a family vacation I gotta go on. You know how it is."

"Yeah, have fun with that," Taylor replied, grimacing in sympathy. "Wait, didn't you say you had a lot of practice?"

"That too. I'm only going on vacation the last weekend of break. Before then, it's nothing but practice," Chad explained. "What about you?"

Starting to rifle through her locker, Taylor answered, "Not much. Hanging out with Gabi and Kelsi, I guess. Celebrating the holidays with the family." She kept her face in her locker. She didn't want him to see that she was disappointed that she wouldn't be able to see him over break.

"Oh. That sounds good," Chad said, watching her go through her stuff.

Aware that he had his eye on her, Taylor blushed, then made herself calm down as she poked her head out of her locker. "Um, yeah, not bad I suppose. So I guess I'll see you next semester?"

"Actually, um, I was thinking we could hang out," Chad offered. "I'm having this party thing with the cheerleaders and jocks before I go away. You could come if you want. Or not, doesn't matter."

Taylor hesitated. The last thing she wanted to do was hang out with 'cheerleaders and jocks,' but if it was the only way she would get to see Chad before next year... "Yeah, maybe I'll stop by. Can Gabi come?"

"I don't know if she would want to, but sure. Just make sure she stays clear of Troy," Chad warned.

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes at the dig at Gabi, Taylor bit her tongue. "Sure, will do. Hey, I gotta clean out my locker, so…"

"Yeah, I'll see you then. I'll email you the date and time of the party later," Chad promised, waving good-bye as he went into the crowd of students and disappeared from sight.

Taylor's shoulders sagged as she watched him leave. "Why do I have to have a crush on _him_, of all people…" she muttered to herself in disgust.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Adjusting his tie, Troy sat in his living room with a scowl on his face. Gabriella's aunt was having a family party for the holidays, and his dad was forcing him to go. The last thing he wanted to do was go make small talk with his ex-girlfriend's family; he'd much rather stay home and watch whatever lame Christmas special that was on television that night.

But according to his dad, this was the first time Mrs. Montez was introducing him to her family. If it was just a dinner, Troy could stay home, but since it was a huge party he had to go and "make a good impression."

At least he could be consoled by the fact that Gabriella wasn't thrilled by the prospect either. When each of their parents had told them the news, together, she'd frowned the moment Mrs. Montez said that Troy was invited too. He could tell why – chances were that not every member of her family knew that they'd broken up. She was going to have to spend the whole night listening to family members say, "oh, it's such a shame about you and Troy, you were such a cute couple."

The thought made him smile.

It disappeared the minute his father happened to glance in his direction. "Dad, do I _have_ to go to this thing?"

"For the millionth time, Troy, yes you do," Jack retorted, checking his own tie in the mirror that hung above the couch. "It won't be so bad. Maybe you'll have fun – I hear Gabriella has some cousins your age."

Troy shrugged, and with little enthusiasm in his voice replied, "Maybe."

"Jack! Troy! Are you ready?" Mrs. Montez called, coming down the stairs in black pants and a blouse.

Half-listening to his father's reply, Troy's focus stayed on the stair case. Gabriella was walking down them, a little awkward in her high heels. She was wearing a deep purple velvet dress, one that fitted her in such a way that he was instantly reminded of a medieval princess. She kept her hair long and curly, with only a few touches of makeup and jewelry.

Troy gulped, struggling to remind himself that in a few months Gabriella could very well be his sister.

They met in the foyer. Feeling like he should say something, Troy managed to remark, "You…look…nice…"

"Um, yeah, you too," Gabriella replied, blushing.

_There, that wasn't so bad,_ Troy thought. Maybe if they at least acted civilly towards each other this night might not be a total nightmare. "So, um, who are we meeting again?"

"Too many relatives to count," Gabriella joked. At his crestfallen face, she added, "But I'll tell you who everyone is when we get there. If I start listing names now, you'll forget half of them by the time we get in the car."

Chuckling, Troy said, "Thanks." Realizing their parents weren't following them, he poked his head back in the living room. "Hey, are we leaving now or…"

"You two start heading to your dad's car," Mrs. Montez told him. "We'll be there in a few minutes; we just need to get some things."

Troy swallowed a nervous lump in his throat. "Yeah, sure."

Moments later they were putting on coats and heading into the freezing air. They were having a particularly cold winter this year. It had rained earlier, and the pools of rain were turning into ice on the walkway to the car. Gabriella took one look at the scene in front of them and muttered, "There's no way I'm going to be able to walk through that without twisting my ankle."

"It'll be okay," Troy insisted, then without thinking he grabbed her arm. "I've got you."

Gabriella stared at him. "No, you don't have to…"

"You just said you wouldn't be able to do this without twisting your ankle. You might not be my favorite person right now, but I'm not about to let you get hurt," Troy explained, tightening his grip on her arm.

About to protest, Gabriella sighed instead and gave him a small smile. "Thanks. I guess it'd be pretty stupid of me to land myself in the hospital because of pride, huh?"

"Yup," Troy agreed. Together, they started down the walkway, navigating the numerous puddles and black ice.

Clutching onto his arm, Gabriella cleared her throat. "I know, um, this might not be the best time to ask, but…I heard you were dating Sharpay. How's, um, that going?"

"Good. Really good," Troy answered, choosing his words very carefully. "We're, ah, each getting what we want out of the relationship."

Gabriella wrinkled her brow. "_Okay_ then, that's good I guess. Ah!" She screamed, almost slipping.

:"I've got you," Troy assured her, helping her regain her balance. "You're okay, you're okay…"

Leaning against him for support, Gabriella caught her breath. "T-thanks."

"No problem," Troy replied. Hoping he didn't regret asking the question, Troy inquired, "And…how, um, goes it with you and Ryan?"

Gabriella offered him a weak smile. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised you heard about that. It's going really well. We have a lot more in common than I thought."

"That's good," Troy responded, quelling a flash of jealousy. He never thought that Ryan would be the type to swoop in when he and Gabriella broke up.

Gasping, Gabriella slipped on another patch of ice, this time falling into Troy's arms only a foot away from the car. Looking up at him, she grinned. "Thanks."

Troy held her close, not caring about how they must have looked to anyone walking by. "It's my pleasure."

* * *

"What about this?" Gabriella asked, holding up a blouse. She, Taylor and Kelsi were out holiday shopping the day after her party at her aunt's house. Though it had been the chaos of family inquiry she'd predicted it to be, it hadn't been as bad as she thought it would. It probably helped that she and Troy made a silent agreement to be civil to each other.

Though she couldn't get over what happened when they were walking to the car. They'd been so…comfortable with each other, almost like they were close again. Of course, it might have helped that she fell into his arms numerous times.

Then the minute they got to the party they went their separate ways. She wasn't sure, but she could've sworn that he was trying to avoid her. Though she couldn't really blame him as she'd been trying to avoid him too.

"Hello? Earth to Gabi?"

Gabriella snapped out of her reverie, realizing she was still holding the blouse. "Oh, sorry Taylor. Um, like I said, what about this?"

"For who?" Kelsi asked, though it was clear she was still worried about Gabi.

Holding it out to them, Gabriella explained, "For my Mom."

"Too old," Taylor replied after only a glance at the blouse, then pulled another one from the rack. "Now _this_ is your mom. Young but doesn't say 'I'm trying to be twenty-one again.'"

Gabriella nodded, putting the blouse she'd picked back and taking the one Taylor held out. "Perfect. I didn't see this when I was looking. Thanks Taylor!"

"It's what I'm here for," Taylor smirked.

Chuckling, Kelsi remarked, "So Gabi, the way I see it, you have two dilemmas right now."

"Dilemmas?" Gabriella asked, wrinkling her brow.

Taylor nodded in agreement. "Number one, do you buy a gift for Ryan, even though you two have only been going out a few weeks."

"Of course," Gabriella huffed. "He's been great, and we were friends before he asked me out. Plus he already said he'd bought my present."

Glancing at each other with a "whatever, it's her choice" expression, Taylor and Kelsi shrugged. Then Kelsi continued, "Number two…are you getting something for Troy?"

_That_ made Gabriella stop and think. "Troy? W-why would I get something for _him_…should I?"

"Heck no," Taylor huffed, looking up from the rack of clothes to give Kelsi an incredulous look. "Kelsi, he's her _ex-boyfriend_. If she gives him a Christmas present, we're talking mixed signals here! You _do not_ give your ex presents. End of discussion."

Narrowing her eyes at Taylor, Kelsi retorted, "_Not_ end of discussion. Taylor, she's known Troy for almost a year. They still care for each other, not to mention that this time next year they might be brother and sister. Not giving him a present would totally ruin the mood of the holiday."

"It'll be even worse when _he_ doesn't give _her_ one in return," Taylor pointed out.

Gabriella's head was spinning. It hadn't even occurred to her that this would be such a big problem. On one hand, he _was_ her ex. On the other, he was a good friend who could one day be her brother.

* * *

Troy wiped his eyes while he sat up in bed. Glancing at the clock, he saw that it was only 8:30 in the morning. Considering it was Christmas break, he felt it wouldn't be a crime if he rolled over and went back to sleep.

Then he remembered. It was Christmas morning.

Groaning, Troy almost wished he _could_ go back to sleep. This was the first Christmas that his parents weren't together. As if things weren't awkward enough, he would have to leave in the middle of the day. His mother had flown in to see him for the holiday and was staying at an aunt's house nearby.

Somehow Troy managed to drag himself out of bed and put on his robe. Wondering if Gabriella and Mrs. Montez would be up this early, he stumbled into the hallway…and almost crashed into Gabriella, who was waiting outside. _Guess that answers my question,_ Troy thought. "Oh, sorry, didn't see you…"

"Yeah, I, um was just coming up to get you," Gabriella explained. "Mom and Mr. B…I mean, Jack, are waiting downstairs."

Troy chuckled. "I guess I should've known that you and your mom would be up already. So…um…Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas to you too," Gabriella replied, smiling.

Walking towards the stairs, Troy called, "We better hurry before my dad drinks all the hot chocolate."

"He's already had two cups," Gabriella informed him, giggling while she followed him into the living room.

Much later, the four sat around the Christmas tree they'd all decorated some weeks ago. They'd all almost seemed like a family. Gabriella and Troy had ripped open their presents in record time, laughing at each other, admiring each present as they opened it. While all his Christmases in the past were fun, Troy knew this one would be special. Before, he thought it would be special in a bad way. But after this morning, which was much less awkward than he'd originally thought it would be, he was changing his mind.

Now, Gabriella was curled up on the easy chair reading the new book his father got her, and Mrs. Mon…well, Theresa was cleaning up the wrapping paper strewn all over the floor. And his father was getting ready to take him to his aunt's house. Troy frowned, not looking forward to leaving when he and Gabriella were finally getting along so well.

Seeing his unhappy expression, Theresa gave him a smile. "Don't worry, Troy. There will be plenty of leftovers from dinner when you get back."

Troy chuckled. "Thanks, Mrs. Mon…Theresa."

"It's weird for you, isn't it?" Theresa noted, sitting down next to him on the couch. "Well, you can call me Mrs. Montez as long as you like."

Appreciating the gesture, Troy grinned. "Thanks, but it's okay. I think I'm getting used to it."

"Well, don't rush. I know there's a lot of things you need to get used to," Theresa remarked, with a pointed glance at oblivious Gabriella.

Troy's shoulders sagged. "Look, I'm sorry if I haven't had the best attitude about this situation. But…me and Gabriella…I think we'll be okay."

"That's good to hear. Now, you want to help me clean this up?" Theresa asked, gesturing to the wrapping paper. "I'd ask Gabi, but trying to get her to put down a book is like prying a steak away from a hungry lion."

Laughing, Troy began crumpling up bits and pieces of paper and tossing them into the recycle bag. Soon after he heard his father call down the stairs, "Troy! Get your coat on, we're leaving in five minutes!"

"Okay, Dad! Sorry, Theresa," Troy apologized, feeling bad for leaving her with the mess while he got his coat.

"It's okay, Troy." Going over to Gabriella, Theresa took the large book out of the startled teen's hands. At Gabriella's pleading look, Theresa shook her head. "You can have it back after you _help me_."

Pouting, Gabriella got up, but instead of going towards the tree, she went upstairs. "I have to get something; I'll be down in a minute, I promise!"

"If I catch you reading up there you'll be in big trouble, missy!" Theresa yelled.

Troy didn't have much time to guess at what she needed, but he realized he'd left his handheld video game upstairs. He knew he wouldn't be able to survive the afternoon without it, so when his dad came downstairs he dashed past him and headed to his room. Moments later he came out with the video game in his pants' pocket...and, once again, nearly collided with Gabriella. "We've been doing that a lot today, haven't we?"

"Yeah," Gabriella laughed.

He then noticed that she'd quickly put something behind her back. "What do you have there?"

"Oh, this," Gabriella began, giving him a weak smile as she pulled a new basketball from behind her back. "Look, I know you didn't get me anything, and I'm okay with that. I just…I just wanted to get you this. As a…peace offering, I guess. Merry Christmas."

Touched, Troy took the basketball and turned it around in his hands. It was a _good_ basketball, one that would last him for at least a few months. "Wow, it's great, thanks."

"I noticed that the one you've been practicing with was pretty old," Gabriella explained, her smile widening at his reaction.

Troy felt like a rat. A dirty, smelly rat. She was buying him Christmas presents while he was pretending to date Sharpay to get back at her. _Then again, she _is_ dating Ryan…who are you kidding, you're a rat._ Remembering something, he opened the door to his room. "Wait here. Don't move."

Putting the basketball on his bed, Troy grabbed something from a corner of his closet, stepped back into the hallway and handed it to her. "Merry Christmas to you too."

"_Grease_," Gabriella laughed, looking at the DVD in her hands. "I can't believe you got me something."

Troy shrugged. In all honesty, he'd wanted to get her something. After all, she was his best friend even before they started going out. But after thinking it over and talking to Chad, he'd reasoned that it wouldn't be appropriate. Then he'd seen the DVD, remembered how she said she'd lost her copy during the move, and couldn't help himself. "Well, like you said, peace offering and all that," he explained. "Plus I remembered you lost your old one."

"Thank you," Gabriella said, giving him a brief hug.

Stunned, he blurted, "Y-you're welcome." Then, remembering that his dad was waiting for him, gave her an apologetic smile and went downstairs.

* * *

Moving her pawn six spaces, Gabriella grimaced as she landed on Trump Tower. It was New Years Eve, and inexplicably she and Troy had ended up alone together playing Monopoly. Knowing that Troy owned Trump Tower, she gave him a pleading look. "You wouldn't make _me_ pay you rent, would you?"

"Heck yeah!" Troy exclaimed, holding out his hand. "Fifty bucks, please!"

Gabriella slapped a blue fifty in his hand. "At least you said please. I really don't like this side of you, Troy."

"Get over it and pay up," Troy exclaimed, happily putting her fifty in the pile of other fifties he'd tucked under the board.

Shaking her head, Gabriella tried not to let his attitude bother her as she picked up the dice again. Since she'd gotten two three's, she needed to role…and risk landing on capitalist pig Troy yet another time. That was her nickname for him now – capitalist pig. "At least I have to get $200 for passing 'Go'…" she mumbled, then let out a scream of aggravation when she landed on City Tax.

Troy doubled over with laughter. "Or not!"

"I hate you," Gabriella retorted, taking the two hundred from the bank and, instead of adding it to her meager pile, put it in the middle of the board for Free Parking.

Giving her an apologetic grin that was totally fake, Troy replied, "You rolled the dice. I don't control 'em."

"I'm beginning to think you do," Gabriella pouted. "Why did Taylor have to get sick…"

That's it. The next time she saw Taylor, her best friend was getting an earful. After the way Gabriella let herself be dragged to Chad's party earlier in the week, Taylor had the nerve to come down with the flu. Gabriella's original New Year's plans had involved a night in with Ryan, Taylor, and Kelsi at Taylor's house. But then Taylor got the flu, and she couldn't hang out at Kelsi's because her parents were having a formal New Year's Eve party.

And _then_ Ryan dropped the bomb that his parents had planned a surprise New Year's vacation to Hawaii for the family. That meant that Sharpay would be gone too, leaving Troy suddenly without plans, as he had been going to be going with Sharpay to her country club. So now both Troy and Gabriella were stuck home playing Monopoly while their dates enjoyed the beaches of Hawaii.

Life was not fair.

Suddenly, Troy pointed at the clock. "Hey, look! It's five minutes to midnight!"

"Big deal. Roll," Gabriella retorted, too ticked off to appreciate the new year. "It's time for you to land on one of _my_ properties."

"What properties?" Troy scoffed, but rolled anyway. He pretended to groan as he landed on the hotel she had on George Washington Bridge. "Oh no! However will I pay you? Oh wait, I'll just give you one of my _many_ five hundred dollar bills!"

Gabriella glared at him. "Just give me the stupid money!"

"Seriously, Gabi, you're not at all psyched for the new year?" Troy asked, looking at the television. They were watching the special from Times Square.

Sighing, Gabriella replied, "Yeah. Though when you consider how exciting this year has been, next year is going to have a lot to live up to."

"I know what you mean," Troy agreed.

A lot_ to live up to_, Gabriella thought. It suddenly occurred to her that this time last year she barely knew Troy's name. Now here she was, playing Monopoly with him, her ex-boyfriend and potential brother. _This year wasn't just exciting, it was weird._ "You remember that ski trip, Troy?"

"Like it was yesterday," Troy admitted. "I remember thinking that you were really cute when you stepped up to the karaoke mike. You were so shy, I thought there was no way you were going to sing. Boy was I surprised."

Blushing, Gabriella confessed, "I didn't want to sing. I thought the crowd would boo me off the stage. But then you got on the stage, and I knew there was no way you'd talk to me if I didn't sing. So I did. Plus I was afraid of chickening out, if that makes any sense."

"It does," Troy laughed.

They both turned to the television. The crowd in Times Square was already counting.

"Ten…nine…eight…seven…six…five…four…three…two…one! Happy New Year!"

Troy smiled at her. "And here we are again."

"Here we are," Gabriella repeated. The two stared at each other for a brief moment before returning to the game, Gabriella remembering that at this moment last year she was putting his number in her cell phone.


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"Anyone else for auditions?" Ms. Darbus called, her glasses in one hand while she surveyed the group gathered in the auditorium.

Troy couldn't believe he was here again, slumped in his chair in the auditorium. After last year, he couldn't imagine ever being in a musical again. Sure, it was great at first, but after a while he realized it just wasn't for him, and that he was much better suited to basketball. It was a fun experience, but one he didn't want to repeat.

So how did one explain the fact that he was at auditions for the winter musical, _The Wizard of Oz_? Simple – the girl sitting in the seat next to him.

"Don't slouch like that," Sharpay barked, causing him nearly to jump out of his chair. "Ms. Darbus doesn't like that, and you do want to get the part, don't you, _honey_?"

"Yes, sweetie," Troy mocked, trying as best he could to keep the derision out of his voice. He couldn't help but become wistful as he remembered what it had been like the last time, with Gabriella next to him, both of them attempting to keep from laughing at the drama freaks auditioning. Now, she _was_ one of those drama freaks…and so was he.

As much as he didn't want to admit it, he was almost looking forward to being in a musical again. One semester of just basketball was enough to drive him over the edge. Plus, he _had_ told Sharpay he would audition with her.

"No one else?" Ms. Darbus added, narrowing her eyes at the auditorium door, daring anyone on the other side to come in late. "No? Good. We'll start with the lead pair, Dorothy and the Scarecrow. First up, Ryan Evans and Gabriella Montez."

Whispers went through the crowd. Troy wasn't surprised. This was the first time in probably all of history that Ryan and Sharpay Evans weren't auditioning together. Making it worse was that they were auditioning for practically the same role – if Ryan got his part, then probably Gabriella would be the lead, and vice versa.

He could tell it was bothering Sharpay. She had her "Ice Princess" face on, her steely glare fixated on Gabriella and Ryan, but mostly Gabriella. Troy half expected his ex-girlfriend to burst into flame. Along with the glare, Sharpay was clutching the edges of the chair armrest with either hand as tight as she could. Her legs were firmly crossed at the ankles, and once in a while she would snap at Troy to straighten his shirt or sit up straighter.

"Calm down, Sharpay," Troy whispered. "You don't want to mess up your part, do you?"

Much to his horror, she turned her steely look on him. "I am a professional, Bolton. I do not let my emotions affect my performance."

"Okay then," Troy replied, squirming in his seat.

His heart leapt in his throat when he saw Gabriella begin to audition. Like Sharpay, he was jealous that _he_ wasn't the one on stage at the moment with his rightful partner. He wasn't about to let it bother him as much as it did Sharpay, but he still fought to keep the anger out of his voice and his whole body was rigid.

After a few minutes Gabriella and Ryan were finished with their song, and the audience applauded. Troy half-heartedly put his hands together once or twice before giving up. They were good, and he and Sharpay were in trouble.

"Bravo, Gabriella and Ryan!" Ms. Darbus exclaimed, clapping with gusto. Checking her clipboard, she bellowed, "Now on stage, Troy Bolton and Sharpay Evans!"

"Come on!" Sharpay hissed, dragging Troy towards the stage.

Though he was supposed to be auditioning for the Scarecrow, Troy felt more like the Lion – scared out of his mind. He'd wanted to audition for the Tin Man. It was the less of three evils, because if he was lion, he'd have to wear a hot and furry suit on stage. Now, that he was forced to be the Scarecrow by Sharpay, he'd have to be stuffed with straw, and flop about on the stage like an idiot. Not his idea of fun.

But Sharpay was already readying herself for the song to begin. He knew if he ran out now, she'd hunt him down and kill him.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Troy began, "If I had a brain, I could…I could while away the hours, conferrin' with the flowers, consulting with the rain…"

* * *

"What?"

It wasn't an outraged cry that echoed through the school, but a quiet squeak that Taylor, who was standing right next to her, could barely hear. "I…I didn't get it?" Gabriella whimpered, feeling tears in her eyes.

"It's okay, Gabi," Taylor assured her, pointing to the cast list that was posted on the drama club bulletin board. "You're still in the play, see? Ms. Darbus cast you as the Wicked Witch of the West. Which is really ironic if you think about it…really, _Sharpay_ as sweet and kind Dorothy? This I gotta see."

Gabriella managed a meek chuckle. "Thanks, Taylor. But I don't know if I can play the Wicked Witch. I'm just not mean enough."

"You can pull it off, girl," Taylor replied with a smirk. "I've seen you in the once in a while that you've got your temper going. You're fierce."

Blushing, Gabriella continued to stare at the cast list. She just didn't _get_ it. She'd rehearsed over and over, for hours at a time. And she knew she did her best on audition day. How could she not get it?

"I'm going to see Ms. Darbus," Gabriella announced, whirling on her heels and going off in the direction of the drama teacher's room.

Hurrying to catch up, Taylor asked, "Why? So that she can tell you that Sharpay was just better or some crap like that?"

"Well, yeah," Gabriella replied, the thought occurring to her that posing the question would make her sound totally conceited. "I just…I just want to know _why_ she thought Sharpay was better, so that I can be better next time."

"I guess," Taylor said, reluctance in her tone.

Gabriella frowned. "Okay, so I want to know if she really thought Sharpay was better. But I won't make it sound that way."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Taylor asked, momentarily stopping when they came to her locker.

Hesitating while she considered the offer, Gabriella shook her head. "No, I think it would be better if I was alone…no offense."

"Hey, the less contact with Ms. Darbus, the better," Taylor told her, completely serious while she began going through her locker. "Good luck."

"Thanks, I'll need it," Gabriella replied, gathering her courage as she continued down the hall. She froze on the spot when she saw Troy and Sharpay talking on the bench outside the library.

_What should I do?_ Gabriella wondered, standing there in terror. Luckily, the bench was around the corner, so they couldn't see her. _If I walk passed, I'll have to say _something_. But I just know Sharpay's going to want to rub her victory in my face. And I don't know if I can stand watching her and Troy being all…well…girlfriend and boyfriend…_

While she was standing there wondering if she should just talk to Ms. Darbus later, she couldn't help but overhear Troy and Sharpay's conversation…

"_We got the parts we wanted!" Sharpay squealed. "Aren't you excited?"_

"_Um, yeah," Troy replied with much less enthusiasm._

"_This is going to be so great, we'll get to spend a lot of time together. Who knows, maybe we'll go on a real date!"_

At that, Gabriella wrinkled her brow. What did Sharpay mean by a "real date"?

_After a moment Troy replied, "Sharpay, _I don't like you_. I thought you knew that. This whole thing wasn't just some plan of yours to get us together, right?"_

"_Oh, please. I don't like you just as much as you don't like me. And you're the one who came up with this plan in the first place."_

"_Oh, right."_

"_Is there a problem, Bolton? You've been so bummed ever since you got back from vacation."_

"_I know, I've been thinking. You know how I originally wanted to pretend to be dating to get back at Gabi?"_

"…_and fend off single girls, yeah. And I wanted the status of dating you. What's the problem?"_

"…_I don't think I want to do it anymore."_

_There was silence. Then, in a voice that's anger was so thinly veiled even Gabriella could detect it, Sharpay seethed, "Explain, Bolton. Now."_

"_I'm really sorry," Troy began, "But I just can't do it anymore. I wanted Gabi to be jealous, and regret breaking up with me. But when I look at her, she's heartbroken, and I didn't want that. I mean, maybe it wouldn't have bothered me a month ago, but we sort of…bonded over the winter vacation, and I think we're on our way to being friends again. I'm sorry, Sharpay."_

_Again, silence. "So…you're dumping me?" Sharpay whispered._

"_Well, we were never really dating. But in the sense of the quasi-relationship we had going on…yeah, I am. Again, I'm sorry."_

_Suddenly, Sharpay let out a scream so loud that had everyone within hearing distance whirling around to stare. "How dare you, Troy Bolton? _No one_ dumps Sharpay Evans. Sharpay Evans is dumping _you_. This 'relationship' is officially _over_!"_

With one more piercing shriek she stormed off, throwing up her hands so that the gathered students parted before her. She passed Gabriella, but luckily the blonde was so furious that she didn't even notice.

Meanwhile, Gabriella was so overwhelmed with conflicting emotions she couldn't make heads or tails of them. On one hand, she was angry at Troy for trying to make her jealous, but on the other, she was happy that he cared that she was heartbroken. When it came to Sharpay, Gabriella was upset that the blonde got the part she wanted, and going along with the scheme, but thrilled that Sharpay got what she deserved by Troy "breaking up" with her. How was she supposed to make sense of any of this?

_Oh well,_ Gabriella sighed, continuing on down the hallway towards Ms. Darbus. At least she could solve _one_ of her problems by talking to the drama teacher.

* * *

Taylor heard Sharpay's angry shrieks from down the hall. _What was that about?_ She wondered, then shrugged it off. Chances are the drama queen was just overreacting to something. Maybe the blonde broke a perfectly manicured nail.

Chuckling to herself, Taylor set to reorganizing her locker. School had only been in session for little more than a month, yet her locker was already a disaster. Funny, she was usually very neat.

Mumbling to herself, she picked through the stuff at the bottom. "Let me see…old notebooks, should take those home…scientific calculator, I was wondering where that was…ew, what the heck is that?"

"Looks like a melted chocolate bar to me. Can I eat it?"

Taylor nearly jumped out of her skin at Chad's question. Startled, she looked up to see Chad leaning on her locker door, smirking down at her. Not one to show her nerves, she picked up the mangled mess of wrapper and chocolate with her index finger and thumb, holding it out to him. "Sure, be my guest."

"Thanks," Chad retorted, taking the chocolate from her. Much to her disgust, he started licking the silver wrapper.

Wrinkling her nose, Taylor went back to her locker to avoid looking at him. "So, is there any particular reason you're eating a six-week-old candy bar at my locker? Or am I just that lucky?"

"No reason, really. I, um…" Chad trailed off while he licked the wrapper again. "I…saw the cast list. Sharpay got the lead, huh? Gabriella must not be feeling too well. Tell her I'm sorry if you see her."

_Okay, something is up. Chad is not that considerate_, Taylor thought, hesitating while she tried to figure out what he was really up to. "So…you came all the way over, to _my_ locker, to ask about Gabriella, your best friend's _ex-girlfriend_. That makes perfect sense. Then there's the question, why not just ask her yourself?"

"I saw her heading toward Darbus' room," Chad explained after a moment with a convincing shudder. "Following her _there_ would be like writing out my own detention slip."

Taylor couldn't help but chuckle. "You're right about that. But give it up, basketball boy. What's the deal?"

"Okay, look, don't laugh, but…" Chad hesitated, wiping the chocolate from his mouth with the back of his hand. "I…was wondering if you wanted to get some dinner after the game against the South High Broncos on Friday. Since you, um, came to the party I haven't been able to stop thinking about you."

Stunned, Taylor had to concentrate on keeping her jaw from dropping. There had to be dozens of people at that party, and she must've talked to him for no longer than five minutes…yet he couldn't stop thinking about her? The thought was flattering and thrilling. Add in the fact that she was developing a major crush on him, she was shocked she didn't faint on the spot. Her knees shaking, she managed to say in a calm tone, "Yeah, t-that would be great. I'll, um, meet you outside the guy's locker room after the game. I'm going anyway – Kelsi wants to go cheer for Jason."

"Kelsi and Jason? Really?" Chad chuckled in disbelief. "Well, sounds good, Mckessie," he added, now back to his arrogant self. Throwing the candy wrapper in a nearby trashcan, he said, "See you Friday."

"See you," Taylor replied, too excited to let him bother her like he usually did. Letting out a girl squeal, she slammed her locker door shut and ran to find Gabriella. She _had_ to tell her best friend about this, and not even the threat of Darbus was enough to make her wait another second.

* * *

Gathering his courage, Troy paced outside of Gabriella's room. He had to do this. He _had_ to tell her. After his fight with Sharpay, the guilt he'd been feeling increased ten fold. And he knew the only way he'd get over it was to tell Gabriella the real reason he was dating Sharpay, no matter how angry she got at him.

He raised his hand to knock, then lowered it a second later. _Come on, you can do this._ Letting out a low, deep breath, he raised his hand again and knocked.

Gabriella had been listening to music, so it was lowered, and a moment later Gabriella answered the door. Narrowing her eyes at him, Gabriella snapped, "What?"

"I...um…" Troy stuttered, once again unprepared for her temper. Was it just him, or had she been using it more and more lately? "C-can we talk? Please?"

Tilting her head, Gabriella stared at him. Then she nodded and stepped into the hallway, closing the door behind her. "Sure. What do you want to talk about?"

Troy felt like his whole body was about to crumple to the floor. He'd been hoping that she would invite him into her room, so that at least he could sit in a chair or something. "W-well…you know, um, me and Sharpay?"

"Yeah," Gabriella replied curtly, her face blank of emotion.

Clearing his throat, Troy continued, "Well, w-we weren't really a couple. I was pretending to date her to make you jealous…and to get girls off my back, but mostly to make you jealous. I'm sorry, it was a rotten thing to do, and I'll never do anything like it again!"

"Troy, I…" Gabriella began, her expression softening. "I knew."

Troy wrinkled his brow in confusion. How could she _know_? "What?"

Blushing, Gabriella explained, "I was on my way to see Ms. Darbus, and I heard you…'break up' with Sharpay."

"Oh," Troy muttered, not able to make eye contact with her. Okay, so she knew. Now was the hard part - dealing with her reaction.

Leaning against her door, Gabriella said, "I was going to bring it up, but I was waiting for you to tell me. And I'm glad you did. Though I'm still a little mad at you…I'll forgive you, or try to."

"Thanks," Troy breathed, glad that he wasn't on the receiving end of a temper outburst. "I'm, uh, glad we could talk."

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah, so am I." He was about to go back to his room when Gabriella grabbed his arm and said, "Hey, um, you still owe me another game of Monopoly. I need to beat you at least once."

Turning around, Troy wasn't sure what to make of that. While she was still angry, maybe she wanted to start rebuilding at least their friendship. "Sounds fun. Although, I will take every last cent you've got."

"You wish," Gabriella joked, lightly punching him in the arm.

Troy was about to retort when he heard the front door open, and their parents walk in. Both were surprised to come home on a weekday to find out that Jack and Theresa were out on a date. Then Gabriella remembered that her Mom mentioned something about it being some kind of anniversary, and they'd shrugged it off.

"Troy, Gabriella?" Jack called up the stairs. "You two home?"

"Yeah, Dad, we're here," Troy shouted.

"Well, both of you get down here, please. Theresa and I have some news."

Trading confused glances with Gabriella, Troy started down the stairs, with her following. They arrived to find their parents standing side-by-side in front of the living room couch, silly grins on their faces. Theresa had her arm around his waist, leaning on his chest. As for his dad, Troy couldn't remember him wearing a goofier grin.

All of a sudden, Troy felt sick to his stomach.

Theresa pulled her arm out from Jack's waist, holding up her ring finger. A gorgeous ring now glittered on it. "Jack proposed! We're getting married!"

"Aren't you happy for us?" Jack asked, kissing Theresa on the cheek.

Troy and Gabriella stared with their mouths hanging open in shock, each waiting for the other to react first.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Moments after receiving the news of their parents' engagement, Gabriella and Troy were sitting around in Gabriella's room. They weren't playing Monopoly.

"M-my mom seems happy," Gabriella sputtered, kicking the drawers under her bed with the backs of her heels. She was sitting with her arms crossed, her back straight. It was impossible for her to let any of her muscles loosen after the bombshell that had just been dropped. "And we knew this might happen," Gabriella pointed out, more to remind herself than him.

"That's the thing. _Might_," Troy replied. He was pacing the rug in front of her, his arms also crossed. That was the first thing he'd said since receiving the news. "I just…I can't believe this. My dad's only been divorced from my mom for what, a few months, and he's already marrying again? I get that they were dating while my dad was separated, but…it seems too soon, don't you think?"

Gabriella hesitated. She wanted to agree, just for simplicity's sake, but she couldn't, at least not totally. "Well, it's not too soon for _me_. My dad passed away when I was little…" she trailed off, seeing that Troy was about to say something to the effect of "I'm sorry." "No, it's okay, it was a while ago. I'm just saying that I've always wondered what it would be like to have a father figure during my teenage years and…I've come to like your dad."

"I like your mom too," Troy added quickly. "I'm just worried that dad's rushing into this. He seemed to get over my mom real fast."

Tilting her head, Gabriella admitted to herself that he was right. Everything had happened so quick that she never stopped to consider how quick this was really happening. "Well, yeah. But he and my mom have been dating for months, and that's long enough to get engaged, right?"

"It is, I'm not saying it isn't," Troy agreed with a sigh. "But…I dunno, my dad isn't the type to rush into things. I'm afraid he's on the rebound. And then…there's us."

Gabriella didn't know what to say. While she couldn't say that the thought of getting together again hadn't entered her mind, she didn't think it'd entered his. And it was slowly occurring to her that when their parents got married, there would be no chance for her and Troy to get back together. They'd be stepbrother and stepsister. Though she knew there were much worse forms of incest, she knew she would never be able to date Troy knowing that he was technically her brother. "What about us?" she finally replied.

"I don't know," Troy shrugged. "You said in the beginning that we'd pick up where we left off once school was out. Do you still feel that way?"

Her shoulders sagging, Gabriella thought about it. She'd thought she meant it back in November. Now…she was thinking otherwise. After all they'd been through, Gabriella knew they both changed their opinions of the other. She'd seen sides of Troy she didn't particularly like. Not to mention that she had already started to think of him as a brother before their parents announced their engagement.

But she couldn't say any of that. What if he still had feelings for her? "Um…I don't want to say," Gabriella admitted, then she got an idea and grabbed a pen and notepad from her nightstand. "What I'm afraid of is, what if, say you didn't have feelings for me, but I said I had feelings for you, and you just said you did to make me feel better? This is why I think we should write it down, so we're both honest."

Taking the piece of paper and extra pen she'd given him, Troy stared at her. "I…think I understood that."

Gabriella chuckled at his bewildered expression. "Just write down whether you think of me as a girlfriend or a sister. I'll write down if I think of you as a brother or boyfriend."

"That sounded so wrong, but I get it," Troy joked, leaning on her nightstand. There was silence while the two wrote down their choice. Then they exchanged papers. "Well, this is it," he remarked.

Giving him a reassuring smile, she looked down at the paper in her hand. And breathed a sigh of relief. "Sister."

"Brother," Troy read, his smile wide. "I guess this whole living together thing really changed how we thought about each other, huh?"

Gabriella nodded. "I guess so, _bro_. So…we're cool with our parents getting married?" It was almost ironic how, even though they were now okay with this, they were stunned speechless moments ago when they first heard the news. They hadn't screamed, they hadn't yelled, they hadn't cried, they hadn't even said anything. With their parents staring at their retreating backs in confusion, they'd whirled around and went straight up to Gabriella's room.

"Well, when it comes to us, yeah," Troy replied. "But…I'm still worried about my dad. I wish there was some way to tell if he really likes your mom, or if he's just on the rebound. When we do become brother and sister, I want it to last."

Touched, Gabriella thought about his predicament for the moment. She sympathized with him – the last thing she wanted was for her mother to get hurt. "You know…" Gabriella said, a plan slowly forming in her head. "I think I have an idea."

* * *

"You okay, Mom?" Gabriella asked. She and her mother were having dinner alone, not for the first time that week. Personally, Gabriella didn't mind – it was nice this way, and brought back memories of how their lives used to be. However, she could tell that her mother was irritated that the other half of their family wasn't here.

With a deep sigh, Theresa pushed the food on her plate around with her fork. "Yes, Gabi. When did Jack say he and Troy would be home from practice?"

"And I quote – 'soon,'" Gabriella replied, putting down her own fork to make air quotation marks with her fingers. When her mother let out an aggravated groan, Gabriella had to force herself to keep the smile off her face.

For the past few weeks, she and Troy had been putting their plan into action. Gabriella had worked on her mom, and Troy worked on his dad. Their plan was simple – point out all the annoying stuff the other parent did. "Stuff" had included pointing out that Jack always forgot to give phone messages, that Theresa always left her makeup on his nightstand, that Jack spent at least one night every week playing poker with his friends, or that Theresa had more guy friends than girlfriends. At first it was frustrating, because neither of their parents would show any concern when Troy or Gabriella pointed out these facts.

Then, their plan started working a little. Troy's dad hadn't been able to make it home for a date because a special weekend practice ran late, and Jack hadn't bothered to call. That and Troy and Gabriella's scheme was now driving Theresa crazy. And Jack was getting annoyed because Theresa was acting that way. So the plan was working – Theresa and Jack were definitely seeing the other's flaws.

The problem was, it might be working a little _too_ well. Gabriella and Troy initially had thought that if they did see each other's flaws, they would get over it and still love each other. Now, it was looking like Gabriella and Troy were accidentally causing their parent's breakup.

They'd both considered damage control, like letting up on the flaws and pointing out the good in the other parent. But they'd both reasoned with a heavy heart that it was better their parents were experiencing this now rather than when their parents were married.

"I can't believe this," Theresa muttered, rustling her daughter from her thoughts. "Every night this week they haven't been home before seven 'o clock. I get home at five, and I'm hungry."

Swallowing a mouthful of food, Gabriella assured her, "It's not that bad. Basketball finals are coming up – I remember last year, Troy barely had time for play rehearsal. The season's almost over."

"But then it'll be baseball season, and Jack already warned me that he coaches the school's team, _and_ the summer league Troy's on," Theresa explained, exasperation in her tone.

Gabriella stared at her with concern. "This is really bothering you, isn't it?"

Not answering right away, Theresa kept her eyes on her food. "I try not to let it bother me. And it wouldn't, if it was just that practices ran late or he put in a few extra. But…when he gets home, all he ever does is talk about sports or watch sports or figure out some more plays. Before it didn't bother me as much, but now we're _engaged_. I'd like him to take time out of his busy sports schedule to help me with the wedding, or at least want to talk about it."

"I'm sure…he doesn't mean it," Gabriella replied, doing her best to try to understand her future stepfather. "He's been stuck in his sports mode for a long time, and you can't expect him to change overnight. Maybe you should just tell him…tactfully…and see what he says."

Theresa shrugged, taking a sip of her drink. "I guess so. It's just that, the whole time we were dating, I kept thinking, 'There has to be more to this man than just sports.' But I've found that for the most part I'm wrong. I swear, he's such a typical male it frustrates me."

"Jack has a sensitive side…probably…" Gabriella argued, searching her mind for an example. "He…went with you to see _Grease_, didn't he? Ms. Darbus almost had a heart attack when he said he actually liked it."

Chuckling, Theresa nodded. "I suppose. You're right. I'll just have to talk with Jack when he and Troy gets home. _If_ they get home," Theresa added with an impatient glance at the digital clock on the counter. "Thanks, Gabi."

"No problem, Mom," Gabriella replied, hoping beyond hope that her mom and Troy's dad resolved their differences. She was beginning to find it hard to imagine her life without Troy as a brother.

* * *

Troy sat at the top of the stairs, with Gabriella sitting next to him and looking over his shoulder. They were hiding behind the wall that came over part of the staircase – their parents wouldn't be able to see them, but they'd be able to see their parents.

Frowning, Troy watched as their parents argued back and forth. He and his father had stayed at practice later than they'd thought, _much_ later. After the team went home, they'd practiced free throws, went through plays, and had a few father-son talks while they played. It'd been great.

That was, until they both realized that neither bothered to call Theresa to tell her where they were. By the time they got home around 8:00, both Theresa and Gabriella were worried sick.

"_Where have you been? Chad called for Troy – practice ended _three hours_ ago!" Theresa had exclaimed the second they'd walked through the door._

And her and Jack had been arguing ever since.

With a sigh Troy checked his watch. It was now almost ten 'o clock. "They've been going at it for a while. You think they'll stop soon?" he whispered to Gabriella

"I don't know," Gabriella answered. "My mom can argue for a long time. And she was telling me a little over a week ago that she had a lot of stuff to talk about with Jack."

Groaning, Troy leaned against a railing. Theresa was yelling at Jack now, rapidly moving her hands in all directions while she did. Jack was trying to placate her as much as possible, defending himself the best he could. _Poor Dad,_ Troy thought.

"Do you think they'll be okay?"

The question was so quiet that Troy almost didn't hear it. Turning to look at her, Troy took her hand in his. "Don't worry about it. I've seen them together for the past few months…they're really good together. I wasn't really for this at first, but I'm starting to see that they love each other…I think…"

"In other words?" Gabriella asked.

Troy's shoulders sagged. "I have no idea."

"It could be worse, though," Gabriella pointed out, staring at their parents argument again. "At least they're talking about it. I mean, this can only end two ways…either they break up or work out their differences."

"Yeah, I guess so," Troy replied. He realized he was still holding her hand, but made no move to release it. "But Gabi…it doesn't matter what happens."

Gabriella raised an eyebrow at him. "It doesn't?"

"Sure. Even if our parents don't marry, I'm going to keep thinking of you as my sister," Troy said. Truthfully, he hadn't meant to be deep or mushy or anything like that. He'd just said what he felt now about the girl he'd once had a _major_ crush on. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more he realized how awkward it would be if he and Gabriella decided to start dating again.

Her gaze immediately softened, and Gabriella squeezed his hand with hers. "Aw, Troy! You'll always be my brother too."

Troy smiled at her, but frowned when a particularly loud scream echoed from downstairs. He winced. "Hey, it's getting late. You just want to go upstairs? I don't think we need to hear this."

"No. I want to know how this ends. Who knows what they'll tell us tomorrow?" Gabriella argued. "I don't want to be told that everything's okay if it's not."

Though he considered protesting, as Troy hated to hear his dad and Theresa scream at each other, he decided that she had a valid point. He, too, hated when his dad didn't tell him the truth, which is what he knew what would happen if this didn't end well. "Yeah, okay."

Gabriella gave him a small smile. Then, much to his surprise, she leaned her head on his shoulder without hesitation while she watched. Though she woke herself up a few times, within a half hour she was fast asleep. Knowing she couldn't have been comfortable on her shoulder, he gently moved her down so her head rested on his lap. Troy felt himself dozing off, and before long he was falling asleep to the sound of his dad and Theresa's yelling.

Sometime later he jerked his head up, startled awake by an unknown cause. Carefully moving around Gabriella's head, he checked his watch. _12:15? They can't still be arguing…_

It was then that he realized that they _weren't_ arguing anymore, which was probably why he'd woken up. Looking around the dividing wall, he saw them sitting next to each other on the couch, Jack with his arm around Theresa's shoulders. _This looks promising,_ he thought, trying to hear their quiet conversation.

"_So, we're agreed," Theresa was saying, running her fingers through Jack's hair. "I won't try to change too much too fast, or try to change you."_

"_And I'll try to think about something other than sports every once in a while, and make sure to call you when I'm running late," Jack promised, kissing her on her forehead._

_Nodding Theresa said, "I hope Gabriella and Troy won't be too disappointed. They haven't exactly been happy that we're getting married."_

"_Well, they'll come around, whether they want to or not," Jack joked, turning up the volume of the television. Troy hadn't noticed before, but they were watching a basketball game._

With a satisfied smile, Troy gently shook Gabriella's shoulder. "Hey, Gabi, wake up. They're done."

"Huh?" Gabriella muttered, slowly sitting up. Shaking her head, her eyes widened when she saw their parents on the couch. "They made up? That's great!"

"And you missed it," Troy teased.

Giving him a light smack on his shoulder, Gabriella stretched and stood. "Come on, let's go upstairs. I'm exhausted."

"Right behind you," Troy assured her, looking at their parents one last time before going up the stairs.


	12. Chapter 11

A/N: Thank God this is done. Frankly, I lost steam for this halfway through but forced myself to finish, unable to face another abandoned story. Needless to say, I won't be returning to the HSM section, but thanks for all the reviews!

I'd just like to point out something. The concept of a boyfriend and girlfriend's parents marrying, thus making them brother and sister, is not gross. Weird, maybe, but certainly not gross. There are tons of other relationships that could make you cringe 'til your face got stuck that way. If you were grossed out by this concept, I shudder to think what would happen if you came across a gay/lesbian story, or one of the few Rypay stories I've seen (yes, that does make in twincest. It's out there, get over it).

Secondly, someone remarked on how it was weird that Troy and Gabrielal were still together even though they were brother and sister. I thought I made it clear that they were still broken up, but I'll say it now. This whole story was devoted to them sealing their relationship as siblings.

I'm sorry if I sound like a total btch, but I'm sick of getting reviews basically saying that I'm sick for something that's not even that gross.

Anywho, sorry about that little outburst. Enjoy the last chapter of the story, and I'll post the epilogue as soon as I write it.

* * *

**Chapter 11**

**May 2007**

Looking into the mirror in the bridal suite of a nearby hotel, Gabriella resisted the urge to mess with her hair. She'd gotten it done earlier that day, and the bobby pins were driving her crazy.

"Mommy, can't I just take out _one_…" Gabriella pleaded, reaching for one that was digging into her skull.

Theresa swatted her daughter's hand before a pin could be touched. "Gabriella, I did not pay to have your hair done just so you can ruin it before I even walk down the isle! Now, the ceremony is in an hour, then you can destroy it all you want to at the reception."

"Besides, girl, it looks _good_," Taylor remarked, swatting Gabriella's other hand before it could make contact. Kelsi was in the room too, along with Theresa's two sisters and Jack's sister.

"Ouch!" Gabriella exclaimed. Both her hands hurt now.

Tilting her head at her reflection in the vanity mirror, Gabriella sighed. She _did_ look good. Her hair was straightened, but twisted and curled around in seemingly random places. Some were on top of her head, while loose sections fell down the back of her neck. It went well with her pale pink maid of honor dress, a flowing combination of silk and transparent material. The other bridesmaids' dresses were similar (Taylor and Kelsi weren't bridesmaids, they were just there to keep Gabriella company).

But by far the most gorgeous woman in the room was Theresa. Her wedding dress was a deep ivory, since she'd been married once before. It was conservative, with a short-sleeve beaded top and a slim, silk bottom. Theresa had her hair straight but styled, with a few well-placed curls in the front and back.

Overwhelmed with emotion, Gabriella hugged her mother. "I can't believe you're getting married, Mommy."

"Me neither," Theresa chuckled, returning the hug. "I always thought _you'd_ get married before I got married again."

"As did we all," Theresa's sister, Maria, remarked with a smirk. All the sisters were gathered around the couch area. Taylor and Kelsi were sitting in each of the two club chairs.

Shaking her head, Theresa's other sister, Julia, commented with a tired sigh, "But it was worth the wait. Last night's bachelorette party was _sweet_!"

"Julia!" Theresa warned. "There's no reason to talk about such things with children in the room."

"We are not children!" Kelsi protested, with Taylor nodding in agreement.

Laughing, Jack's sister Amy said, "You girls sure know have to have fun. I'm glad Jack's marrying a party girl. It's about time he loosened up!"

"Mommy! What exactly did you do last night?" Gabriella asked with a concerned frown. Her mother and the members of her bridal party had gone out dancing and drinking. They reasoned that if the boys are having fun, why shouldn't they? Of course, Theresa wasn't all for it when she'd been dragged out by her sisters, but she'd come back at two in the morning happy and drunk.

Julia chuckled. "Let's just say it was more exciting than the bridal shower."

The conversation turned to the wedding itself, then Jack, then Troy. "So, Amy, what was Troy like when he was little?" Taylor asked, bursting with curiosity. Gabriella and Kelsi were also paying close attention.

Amy paused for a second to think, then said, "Even then he was into sports. One of the best players in Little League baseball. Except for that one time, of course, when he had a little incident during a game. He popped the ball up, and his pants fell down."

"Oh no!" Gabriella laughed, while her friends doubled over in laughter. She stored the story in the back of her mind in case she ever needed it for blackmail. The twinkle in her friends' eyes told her they were doing the same thing. About to comment on that, she paused when she felt her mother put a hand on her shoulder. "What is it, Mom?"

"Gabi, can I talk to you in private, please?" Theresa asks, indicating the private dressing room off to the side.

Curious, Gabriella nodded. "Sure."

Once they were out of earshot of everyone else, they sat down on the couch, one of the few pieces of furniture in the small room. "Gabriella," Theresa began, holding her daughter's hand in hers. "I know this hasn't been easy for you. It's probably made you think about your father a lot, and you've had to deal with getting to know Jack. Not to mention that you and Troy have had to work out your problems. And I know we didn't talk about all this nearly enough. I just…wanted to thank you so much. You've been really supportive all through this, and I know I wouldn't have been able to do this without you."

"Aw, Mom," Gabriella replied, blushing. Though there had been times where she was having a hard time dealing with everything, she'd kept it from her mother. While she'd gladly talk about her problems, Gabriella never felt it necessary to mope or be unpleasant around other people while she was upset. "It was nothing, really. In fact, I think it helped me and Troy. We're closer than we ever were."

Theresa smiled, though her eyes showed surprise. "Really? I thought you two couldn't stand each other for a while there. You mentioned something about getting along again, but I didn't think…"

"Yeah, well, I guess living together helped," Gabriella explained with a shrug. "We've bonded, especially the moments when we've been stuck home alone or something. Plus we've talked about yours and Jack's relationship a lot. Now, we're so close we couldn't be anything _but_ brother and sister. A big change in seven months, huh?"

Nodding in agreement, Theresa replied, "A _big_ change. But I'm glad it worked out for you two."

"I'm glad it worked out for you and Jack," Gabriella replied. "There was one night we heard you arguing. We were afraid you might break up."

"Oh, no, we worked it out, obviously. We just needed to let out some steam," Theresa assured her. After a moment of silence, she sighed. "I'm just so glad you want this to happen. I was so afraid you wouldn't accept Jack, would think I was replacing your father. You do know I loved your father, and always will, right? Jack is not replacing him in my heart."

Gabriella put an arm around her mother's shoulders. "Don't worry, I know. And Jack will never replace Dad in mine."

"I love you, Gabi," Theresa said, wrapping her daughter in a hug.

Tears in her eyes, Gabriella rested her head on her mother's shoulder. "I love you too, Mom."

* * *

Taylor sat in one of the front aisles of the hotel's outside garden, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue she'd borrowed from Chad. Funny, she wasn't normally an emotional person, but just seeing two over her best friends up there just made her all teary-eyed. Okay, so Troy and Gabriella weren't getting married – and now never would – she couldn't help herself. It was a touching scene, really, with Troy standing next to his father in his suit, looking all handsome. Gabriella was beautiful, her hair blowing in the breeze. The part that made her the most teary though was that the two kept glancing each other behind their parents' backs, sharing secretive smiles they thought no one else could see.

"It's great that Troy and Gabriella are friends again," Taylor sighed, resting her head on her boyfriend Chad's shoulder.

Putting his arm around her other shoulder, Chad agreed, "Yeah, it's good to have the group back together. For a while you couldn't even mention Gabriella's name without Troy getting all pissed off."

"It's a little weird that they're brother and sister now," Kelsi remarked, slipping her hand through Jason's, her boyfriend now. It hadn't taken long for them to get together. After Kelsi came to his games a few times, they started talking, and Jason asked her to go to an after party with him.

Considering that remark, Taylor nodded. "Yeah, they were a couple for a really long time. But I think this brother-sister thing is better, even if it is a bit weird. He watches out for her, and she makes sure he keeps up on his school work."

"I noticed that. You'd think they've been brother and sister forever," Chad replied.

Looking up at Troy and Gabriella, Kelsi said, "You really would. And it's like they're best friends too. Lots of times when Taylor and I hang out over her house, he'll stay with us, and she doesn't mind at all. They're like a less clingy version of Sharpay and Ryan."

"Good one, Kels," Jason chuckled.

Also laughing, Chad asked, "Speaking of which, what are the freaky twins up to these days? I heard Ryan's become even more of a drama dork than usual after Troy beat him out for the play, _again_."

"Sharpay…is keeping a low profile," Taylor answered. "After her 'break up' with Troy, word got around about what she was trying to pull with him. Everybody at school is ticked at her. While Troy only got back at Gabi, Sharpay was really popular for the brief stint of the relationship. Nobody likes being deceived, I guess. It probably doesn't help that she's still her usual Ice Queen self."

"I still find it amazing that she didn't get the lead in the school play _again_," Chad smirked.

Chuckling, Jason asked, "Yeah, what was up with that? How'd that happen?"

"Well, from what I remember…" Kelsi answered, pausing. "Ms. Darbus said that casting Sharpay as the Wicked Witch and Gabriella as Dorothy 'wasn't enough of a challenge for either.' She thought they were the best actresses she had, so she put them in roles where she knew they would have to try their hardest."

The four of them laughed, trying to keep it down so as not to disturb the ceremony.

"Oh, look, this is it!" Taylor whispered, pointing to the altar as if it needed to be pointed to.

"I, Jack," Jack said, holding Theresa's hand in his. "Take thee Theresa, to be my lawfully wedded wife, to love and to honor for as long as we both shall live."

The priest turned to Theresa. "Now, repeat after me. I, Theresa, take the Jack, to me my lawfully wedded husband, to love and to honor for as long as we both shall live."

"I, Theresa," Theresa repeated. "Take thee Jack, to be my lawfully wedded husband, to love and to honor for as long as we both shall live."

Turning towards the center again, the priest announced, "Then, by the power invested in me by the Church, I now pronounce you man and wife."

There was a wild applause as Jack and Theresa kissed. Taylor stopped her clapping for a moment to wipe tears from her eyes. Getting out of her seat, she watched as the bridal party went back down the aisle, Jack and Theresa with their arms around each other. Next was Gabriella and Troy, who both waved in the direction of their friends.

"So, Chad," Taylor began as she got out of her seat along with the crowd. They stood their for a while they let other guests file passed. "You ready to dance all night?"

Chad sent her a pleading look. "Can't we just stand around and make fun of other people dancing?"

"Not a chance," Taylor laughed, pulling him down the aisle towards the reception hall.

* * *

"Congratulations, Dad!" Troy exclaimed after the ceremony, giving his father a brief celebratory hug. "Where's the new Mrs. Bolton?"

Jack grinned. "Just saying hello to some of her family." Clearing his throat, he said, "Um, your mother called this morning. To wish me congratulations. She's seeing somebody else too."

"I know," Troy said, getting a strange, tense sensation in his stomach. He felt a little guilty that he hadn't been visiting his mother as much as he should. But he'd had a few long talks with her the times he did visit, and the three of them sat down to talk at least once after the engagement announcement.

Giving Troy a concerned look, Jack asked, "Are you okay with…everything?"

"Yeah, fine," Troy replied sincerely. "I met Mom's boyfriend, and I like him. And I like Theresa. So it all worked out. I like having a sister too, even if she is my ex-girlfriend."

Jack smiled. "That's good to hear. Speaking of whom, you'd better go sit at your table with Gabriella and your friends. I've got some stuff to do, and the DJ will announce us in a little while."

"Sure, Dad. Congratulations again," Troy said. He waved at Theresa, who'd made eye contact with him while she was walking over to Jack, then made his way through the crowd in the reception hall. The table wasn't far away, and he could see Gabriella, Chad, Taylor, Kelsi, and Jason sitting and talking.

However, it was at least fifteen minutes before he could join his friends. Relatives of all types came up to him as soon as he walked in the room. Most were family from his dad's side, but some of Gabriella's relatives came up and introduced themselves, or asked if he remembered them from the Christmas party. Those he did remember, he greeted with familiarity, and those he didn't he gave a weak smile and moved on. The DJ was playing music already, giving guests the opportunity to get in a few dances before the bride and groom arrived. He bumped into a few couples on his way, so that by the time he got to the table he was out of breath. Sitting down in the seat next to Gabriella, he waved to the others. "Hey guys, did you like the ceremony?"

"Yeah, it was great!" Kelsi answered, with Taylor nodding in agreement.

Smirking, Chad added, "Taylor cried."

"I did not!" Taylor exclaimed, punching his arm. However, the way her cheeks blushed and she avoided eye contact with Troy clearly showed she was lying.

"So, what's it like now?" Jason asked, looking at both Gabriella and Troy. "You guys are officially brother and sister. How weird does _that_ feel?"

Smiling at Troy, Gabriella shrugged. "Not weird at all."

"Yeah, in fact, I like it," Troy said, putting his arm around Gabriella's shoulders. With a playful glare, he looked squarely into Chad's and Jason's eyes. "Warn the team. Anyone asks Gabi on a date, they'll have to answer to me."

"Troy!" Gabriella exclaimed, her face turning red with embarrassment.

Without changing his tone, which was dripping with mock seriousness, he replied, "Hey, it's what we brothers do."

The others chuckled, then a popular song started to play. "Oh, I love this song!" Taylor squealed, jumping out of her seat and pulling on Chad's arm. "Come on, let's dance?"

"How about, let's not and say we did?" Chad pleaded, but his begging fell on deaf ears as he was dragged onto the dance floor.

Chuckling, Jason turned to Kelsi and held out his hand. "Want to dance?"

"Sure," Kelsi answered, putting her hand in his. The two went to the dance floor, and started dancing next to Taylor and Chad.

Troy and Gabriella laughed, his arm still lying haphazardly over the back of her chair. "So, Dad and Theresa are now officially married," Troy sighed.

Leaning against the back of her chair, Gabriella replied, "I know, I can't believe it. We're siblings."

"Yeah, we'll be living together until we go to college…" Troy remarked.

"…spending all our holidays together…"

"…arguing with the same set of parents…"

"…going to each other when we need help the most…"

"…looking out for each other…" Troy trailed off, a broad smile on his face. He turned to Gabriella to see that she was doing the same. "Come to think of it, nothing's changed."

"Nope, nothing at all," Gabriella laughed.

Chuckling, Troy's gaze fell on his friends dancing. Getting out of his seat, he held his hand out to Gabriella. "Want to dace with me, sis?"

"Of course," Gabriella answered, laughing as he pulled her out of her seat and whisked her off to the middle of the dance floor.


	13. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

**New Year's Eve, 2027**

"Did you get it?" Gabriella asked, dropping her suitcase in the foyer of the ski lodge cabin. Waving a piece of paper in the air, she ran to the other side of the living room, where her brother Troy was standing near the fireplace.

Troy whirled around just in time to catch her when she jumped into his arm. Supporting her weight, he helped her stand upright so she could catch her breath. "Hi to you, too. Get what?"

"This!" Gabriella exclaimed, flashing the piece of paper in his face. "The invitation to the East High twenty-year reunion! Don't tell me you're not excited?" She hesitated, noting that he wasn't smiling as wide as she was. How could he not be jumping up and down with anticipation?

Troy shrugged. "I don't know. We keep in touch with the real friends we made in high school. Taylor's your daughter's godmother, for crying out loud. Why do I need to go back to see dozens of people I barely knew?"

"What's the matter with you?" Gabriella asked, tilting her head with concern. "You were Mr. Popular Jock in high school. Everybody will be disappointed if you don't go."

Running a hand through his short hair, Troy sighed. "They'll also be disappointed when they find out I'm not a professional basketball player. Or a singer."

"But you're a journalist. A _good_ journalist. You've got nothing to be ashamed about," Gabriella assured him. Sometime during senior year, Troy had signed up for the school newspaper to get some extra curricular activities for his college resume. He ended up loving it, getting a journalism degree, and working for one of the top newspapers in New York.

Meanwhile, Gabriella decided against a music career and pursued her one original passion – chemistry. She was now a chemistry professor at a respected New Mexico university.

As if reading her mind, Troy noted, "At least no one will be surprised when they find out you're a chemistry professor."

"Yeah, if anyone should be dreading this, it's me," Gabriella laughed. "I'll have to sit there the whole time while people say how predictable I am."

"You, predictable? Never," Troy replied with sincerity. By now they'd moved to the couch, with Gabriella resting her legs on his lap. After the long car ride, she wouldn't be able to sit up straight for at least a few hours.

Smiling, Gabriella folded the paper back up and stuffed it in her purse. "So, where's Sharpay and the kids?"

"In the spare bedroom. She's unpacking, while Drew and Arianna explore," Troy informed her.

The way Troy and Sharpay had gotten together was particularly interesting. While they didn't get along in high school, they reunited years later, when Troy had to interview rising Broadway star Sharpay. The former "Ice Queen" had melted a lot over the years, and while there were traces of the original Sharpay, she'd become much more tolerable. She and her sister-in-law Gabriella were even close friends now.

Ryan, too, was in show business. But instead of taking the same route as his sister, he'd become a television actor, and recently gotten a few movie contacts. While he and his wife, another actress, definitely would've come, they were both working on a strict movie schedule.

High school sweethearts Taylor and Chad got married a year after they graduated, mostly because of Taylor's pregnancy. But they didn't mind – they both smothered their eighteen-year-old son with affection. Unsurprisingly, Chad Jr. made a beeline for an out-of-state college, but would be flying in for the family ski vacation. They did have their own careers – Taylor was a researcher for a test lab, and Chad actually did move on to play professional basketball.

Last but not least, Kelsi would also be joining the group. The single mother of an eight-year-old girl named Vanessa, she'd divorced Jason only one or two years ago. But the composer's experience had lead to the creation of the Broadway play Sharpay was now starring in.

"Gabi, hello, Gabi?"

Snapping at her reverie, Gabriella realized that Troy was waving her hand in front of her face. "Oh, sorry," she said. "Guess I'm a little out of it from the car ride. What'd you say?"

"I asked where Zack and the kids were," Troy answered with an amused smile.

Gabriella blushed. Zack was another science major she'd met in college and fell in love with shortly after. Her two daughters, Ashley and Brenda, were ages fifteen and twelve respectively. "Walking around, exploring the resort. They needed some exercise after that long drive."

"Oh my gosh, Gabi!"

They both looked up to find Sharpay Bolton standing in the doorway to the hall, little Arianna wrapped around her mother's legs. Upon sight of her Aunt Gabriella, the child sprinted to the couch and climbing on Gabriella's lap. "Hi Aunt Gabi," she squealed, wrapping her arms around the brunette's neck.

"Gabriella!" Sharpay screamed again, sitting on the arm of the sofa, also hugging Gabriella. "What is up, girlfriend? It's been _way_ too long."

Hugging Sharpay back, Gabriella replied, "Well, _I'm_ not the one performing on Broadway every night."

"I know! Isn't it fabulous?" Sharpay exclaimed. "You and Zack _must_ come to New York. I'm sure I could get you tickets whenever you want."

"Sounds great!" Gabriella said, sure that Zack wouldn't mind. He'd been talking about going on a family vacation anyway. "How long have you been here?"

"We only got here about an hour or so before you. But I think I'm going to take a nap soon – there's a great, fancy dinner for adults in the main dining hall. We should all go!" Sharpay suggested.

Troy nodded. "That'd be fun. But what about the kids?"

"I'll watch them," Gabriella offered. "You know how I am about parties. Besides, Zack's had a bad cough lately, and probably won't want to go anyway."

"Are you sure?" Troy asked.

Gabriella gave him a reassuring smile. "Of course. I don't get to spend enough time with Troy Jr. and Arianna anyway. And who knows, maybe Kelsi will decide to stay in too once she gets here."

"Thank, Gabi!" Sharpay exclaimed, hugging her again. Then she went back into the bedroom, Arianna following her.

Sharing amused glances, Gabriella sighed. She was sure they were both picturing Sharpay at the twenty-year high school reunion. "So, about the reunion…"

"Can't wait," Troy muttered. Gabriella laughed, lying back on the couch pillow and closing her eyes for a nap.

* * *

Weaving his way through the crowds, Troy found his way to the door of the main dining hall. He passed the room where the resort was having a party for teens – he knew his nieces had gone there shortly after the adults left. Standing at the doorway, he smiled when he spotted Brenda, sitting on a club chair reading her book. _Just like her mother._

But who really brought back memories was Ashley. The fifteen-year-old was singing karaoke with a young man who looked to be about the same age. Ashley was the more outgoing one, singing the song with passion and flirting shamelessly with the boy next to her. However, the boy was inching away from her while he sang, pale from nerves. Troy had to keep his jaw from dropping – switch the personalities, and he was watching him and Gabriella over twenty years ago. _How about that…_

Knowing he would only embarrass his daughters if he went in and said hello, he made his way towards the building's exit. Walking through the strip of trees that divided the complex from the guest apartments, he scanned the lowest level for his and the rest of the group's. Each of the lower apartments had patios surrounded by low, individual fences with gates that locked.

He spotted Gabriella sitting on one of the patio bench, covered in a quilt that had come with the apartment. She was warmly dressed but still clutched the blanket tightly around her. She didn't see Troy, but kept her gaze on the sky.

His footsteps quiet on the blanket of snow, he was soon standing at the gate of the patio. "Aren't you cold out here?"

"Oh my gosh, Troy, you scared me! I didn't even hear you walk up!" Gabriella exclaimed, almost jumping out of her seat.

Laughing, Troy unlocked the gate and sat on the bench next to her. "Sorry. But seriously, aren't you cold?"

"Nope, got my blanket, my fleece pullover, my book…" Gabriella pulled out a thick book from under the blanket. "I'm good. And the stars are just so pretty out here, I couldn't stand to be inside."

Looking up at the clear, star-studded sky, Troy had to agree. It was beautiful. "Yeah, they are. But aren't you supposed to be babysitting?"

"Drew and Arianna are asleep," Gabriella assured him with a chuckle. "I tried to let them stay up until the new year, but they passed out on the couch during a movie. Vanessa too, actually, even though she'd insisted that she 'could stay up later than little babies'…who, are in fact only a year younger than her."

"So it's only you? Where's Little Chad?" Troy asked. Everyone called Chad and Taylor's son "Little Chad" to avoid confusion, but the eighteen-year-old was growing tired of the nickname and had begun insisting that the "Little" part be dropped every time someone made the mistake of using it in front of him.

Gabriella shrugged. "Last I heard, he was checking out that teen club with Ashley and Brenda."

"I didn't see him there when I looked in. Don't worry, the girls didn't see me," Troy assured her when she glared at him. "I was just passing by. Don't worry, I'm sure Little Chad just found some friends and went to hang with them. You know how sociable he is."

Still frowning, Gabriella nodded. "Yeah…I guess so. Anyway, what are you doing here? It's almost midnight; I'm sure Sharpay's looking for you."

"I kissed her for the new year already," Troy informed her. When Gabriella raised an eyebrow, he explained, "Well, I knew you were here all alone, since Zack decided to be Kelsi's 'date' for the evening." Single Kelsi wanted to go to the party, but was embarrassed to go without a date. Since Zack was feeling up for it, Gabriella had let him go with her. She didn't mind – she wasn't jealous at all, plus she and Zack had and would have many New Year's Eves together. "And besides," Zack added. "It's been a while since we've rung in the new year together, and I've always thought of it as our holiday."

Gabriella smiled at him, leaning on his shoulder as she stared up at the stars. "You're so sweet, Troy. Always thinking about your old stepsister."

"You are not old," Troy joked. "Hey, speaking of stepsister, you hear from Dad and Theresa lately?"

"Yup, they're doing great. Spending the holidays in Hawaii, since Jack dragged her to the Super Bowl for their vacation last year," Gabriella explained with a laugh.

Troy wrinkled his brow. "I thought Theresa liked football."

"She does, but not enough to sit in the stands freezing her butt off," Gabriella replied.

Chuckling at the image, Troy leaned back against the back of the bench. "Hey, do you remember that one New Year's Eve after we met? We were stuck home, playing Monopoly…"

"How could I forget? You beat me so bad…" Gabriella trailed off, her cheeks reddening in embarrassment. "It was odd how we ended up home alone too. I was dating Ryan, you were dating Sharpay…only to get back at me…come to think of it, it's ironic that you're married to her now, isn't it?"

Troy's eyes widened. He'd nearly forgotten that he'd once dated Sharpay to get back at Gabriella. _I wonder if Sharpay remembers that now…better not bring it up for tranquility's sake…_"Yeah, it is."

"What made you think of that?" Gabriella asked.

Pausing for a moment, Troy realized he didn't know why he'd remembered that particular New Year's Eve. "The reunion invite, I guess. Made be think about high school a lot, the good times, the bad times…"

"Do you regret any of it? I don't," Gabriella asked.

They both looked toward the main building. The crowds inside could be heard counting down…

_Ten…nine…eight…seven…six…five…four…three…two…one…Happy New Year!_

Fireworks lit up the sky, and Troy gave her a light kiss on the top of her head. "Me neither."


End file.
